Finding Family: Foundations
by CaseClosed621
Summary: The Avengers find two kids on the run. One of them has the powers of a spider, the other the ability to create shields. Peter and Gwen have been running for so long, can they trust the Avengers with their lives and their secrets? They find themselves living with the team of superheroes but the people after them won't give up so easily. Can the Avengers keep them safe?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone and welcome to my new fic! I just had a couple of things to say before we get to the story. The first thing is this, I'm in college now, so I grew up with the 2003 version of the Spiderman movie. In Spiderverse, Peter and Mary Jane are my OTP. This being said, I have seen and like the new Amazing Spiderman movie. But with an OTP that you've had since before you even know what an OTP was, I just can't really ship Peter and Gwen. And that is hard for me because I really liked Gwen's character. So when I set out to write spiderman into an Avengers fic but still be able to have Gwen show up without an awkward love triangle, my solution was to make her into Peter's older sister. Yes, I am well aware that I just threw cannon out the window of a truck going at about 100mph.**

**I am also aware that my Gwen is very OOC. The character got away from me a little as I was writing, but the way I wrote her fits better in my story.  
**

**All I'm asking of my readers is to please not point out the obvious that this is not spiderman cannon or that Gwen is out of character. If you're upset about this then feel free to leave it in a review, just be nice about it. I will not tolerate reviewers who write flames just to be rude. We are a fanfiction Community, we are here to support each other writing the stories that we all enjoy.**

**So remember, you all have been warned!**

**Happy Reading,  
CaseClosed621**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or make any money from this story. The characters/ franchises belong to their respective owners.**

It was late evening, the sun had long ago set, really not a time for anyone to be out on their own.

A girl with shoulder length, dirty blonde hair was hurrying through a dark alley, trying to get back to her brother before he started to worry too much. He had gotten sick and she didn't want anything getting in the way of him getting better. She knew that him worrying for her would do just that.

It had been his coughs that had finally driven her from his side to go find medicine. After making him promise not to get out of the warmth of his bed and not to speak to strangers, she had gone, taking the maze of back alleys that was the slums of the city.

It had taken far too long, in her mind, to find a pharmacy, and longer still to choose the right children's medicine. She had hidden her wince when she saw the price, but it was worth it if it would get her brother better.

With her precious item tucked in her jacket pocket, she turned onto one of the better lit streets. Normally this meant that there would be more traffic, but at this time of night, the place was deserted. Or at least, she thought it was until she heard footsteps behind her.

The girl whirled around, adrenaline already beginning to pulse through her veins. A man in his late thirties stood about fifteen feet behind her. She didn't recognize his face, but with that jacket, she didn't need to. He was a Lab Rat.

She whirled back around, intent on out running the man and getting back to her brother and into their hiding place. She only got a few steps before another man in a pristine white lab coat was in her path.

"You've got nowhere to run Gwen," the man behind her said. "Give up, I'm sure the boss won't punish you too much for running away."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" the girl, Gwen, asked furiously. "Think again. I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Then I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," the man in front of her said.

Before Gwen could react, the man behind her had come up and grabbed her in a bear hug. She ducked down a couple inches, shooting her arms out to the front and then rammed her elbow into his gut. The man in front of her came after her then, swinging wildly. She ducked and dodged, landing a few hits of her own in the process. She was about to make a run for it when something happened that made her blood run cold.

"Gwen? Sis, is that you?" a voice called from the open entrance of the alleyway. The men used her momentary distraction to jump her and had her down on the ground in a heartbeat.

Gwen winced as her cheek connected with the rough pavement. One was tying her wrists together when she felt something sharp embed itself into her shoulder. There was pressure and then the sharp thing was taken out. She didn't need to ask what they had just done to her, the way her mind was steadily clouding was enough to tell her.

She had a couple of minutes before she lost all use of her higher reasoning functions, five if she was really lucky.

"Peter," she cried, "run! Get out of here! Get back to camp, grab the stash and run as fast as you can."

"No, I'm not leaving you!" A little boy took a step into the yellow-orange light of a street light, his face hard with determination.

She had two minutes left and Gwen intended to have her little brother as far away as she could. "Don't you dare Peter," she cried, struggling with her sluggish limbs in a last-ditch effort to free herself. "Remember when I said we might have to separate? That we wouldn't like having to do it but we would need to in order to make sure we were safe? I need you to do that now." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men ready another syringe and begin to move towards Peter. "Peter, run!"

"What's going on here?" Another man stepped into the light of the street light, far too close to Peter for Gwen's comfort. He took in the situation with steely blue-grey eyes.

"Mister, I don't know who you are but you need to get out of here," she said. "These people, they're heartless. They'll kill you if you interfere with what they're do-"

Gwen stopped short as she looked down the business end of a military grade bow and arrow. The tip of the arrow, notched in a motion so fast she had missed it, looked like it would do damage no matter where it hit.

'This is it. I'm going to die.' Her eyes flickered over to her brother, standing there and watching the whole situation with a look of horror on his face. 'I am going to die. But he's not. Not if I can help it.'

"Peter, I give you permission! Just get out of here!" He looked at his sister with a look of surprise, then resignation. As he ran back the way he had come, he looked over his shoulder at her and she could see the tears welling up in his eyes. He would be safe, her mind revelled blissfully in the knowledge, she was going to die but he would be safe.

Her eyes had already closed as the string of the bow snapped and the arrow whistled through the air.

Clint and Natasha had been out catching a late movie and were strolling along the street, happy that, for the moment at least, they didn't have anything that the city needed to be defended from. It was late and they were walking to the avengers tower, intent on getting some much needed shut eye when a tiny figure crossed their path.

It was a boy who couldn't have been older than five or six, dressed in a worn thin jacket that did nothing to keep out the below freezing temperatures. As he walked, he called out into the night.

"Gwen. Gw-en! Gwen, where are you?" His voice was raspy and soft; it probably pained him to be speaking.

As they watched, Natasha in worry, Clint in curiosity, the boy turned onto one of the dimly lit side streets. "Gwen? Sis, is that you?" they heard him ask and then sounds of a scuffle were heard.

"Peter, run! Get out of here!" cried a girl's voice. "Get back to camp, grab the stash and get out of here!"

"No, I'm not leaving you," the couple heard the boy say as he took another step into the alley. Clint looked at Natasha, who had the same look in her eye as he knew he did. Those two, whoever they were, were in trouble.

As Natasha scaled the building next to the ally, Clint took a step onto the street and into the light next to the little boy. "What's going on here?"

He took in the situation before him. Two men had wrestled a teenage girl onto the ground. One was holding her there as she struggled, her limbs moving like they were under water. The other had a needle like those used in hospitals in his hands and was making his way towards the little boy.

"Mister," the girl on the ground cried. "I don't know who you are but you need to get out of here. These people, they're heartless. They'll kill you if you interfere with what they're do-"

Clint had seen enough. In a split second he had his collapsible bow out and an arrow notched to it. The two bastards were targeting innocent kids and drugging them.

The girl's eyes flickered the the boy. She had a pained look on her face, like something bad was about to happen that she couldn't prevent. "Peter," she cried, it sounded almost like her heart was breaking. "I give you permission. Just get out of here!"

The boy hesitated a moment, before turning and running off into the night. Clint let him go, Tasha would follow him and make sure he was alright. He had bigger fish to fry.

The girl's eyes closed and her body went limp as he let his arrow fly. It landed with a satisfying 'thunk' into the throat of the man pinning her. A second and two more arrows later and his friend joined him in death. He went over and checked the girl's pulse. Strong and steady, she was just unconscious then. Beside her was an empty syringe.

Clint had just gathered the girl into his arms when he heard someone sprinting down the alleyway towards him. He turned, tensed and ready to fight but found he didn't need to. He nearly grinned as "The star spangled man with the plan" started playing of it's own accord in his head.

"What happened?" Captain America asked as he took in his surroundings. Two men were dead with Hawkeye's arrows in their throats and an unconscious girl. "We were on patrol when Tony saw you with your bow and Tasha running in the opposite direction."

"We were getting back home when this little kid ran in front of us, calling for someone, I'm assuming this girl," Clint said. "He went into the alley and we heard this girl yelling for him to run away. She sounded like she was in trouble so we decided to check things out. These two-" He gestured to the dead men on the ground "- had her pinned to the ground and one of them had a needle full of something and looked like he was going to go after the boy. She yelled at him to run and then went unconscious. They drugged her."

"So where's the kid?" the Captain asked.

"Ran when she told him too," Clint replied. "Tash went after him. Where's Iron Man?"

"Went after Natasha," Captain America replied.

Iron Man landed behind the out-of-uniform Black Widow, who was crouched by a little cubby hole place that was just the right size for a kid to crawl into.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, as Tony pulled up his visor. "Can you come out for me please?"

"No," came the reply from a young sounding voice. Tony crouched down next to Natasha and peered into the shadows. A young boy was huddled as far away from the entrance as he could, his legs pulled to his chest and his eyes wide with fear. He sounded sick.

"He crossed our path when we were on our way back," Natasha murmured to Tony in a low voice. "He was looking for a girl who I think is his sister. They're in trouble. His sister was in a back street getting abducted by two guys in white coats. She told him to run. Didn't want to at first but he finally did. He crawled in here when I finally caught up with him."

"When you finally caught up?" he echoed.

"He's fast, even in his condition and he scaled the walls of buildings easier than even I could. And he's got these string like things that he shoots that he uses like vines to swing from place to place. I think he's one of us."

"Well let's get him home so we can talk to his parents," Tony said.

"I think we are at his home," Natasha whispered.

As he took a second look into the dark niche, Tony noticed things that he had missed before. A torn, but still serviceable, sleeping bag lay next to the wall. Some clothes piled in another corner next to two backpacks and a small supply of pre-packaged food.

"Shit," he said, which earned him a smack on the head.

"I'd crawl in there and get him but I don't want to scare him anymore than I already have. And I think he's got a knife," she said, ignoring Tony's glare. "Hey, are you sure you don't want to come out of there? We can help you."

"Sis said not to trust strangers." It was the longest sentence he'd spoken. "You're with the guy who had the sharp sticks. Not going to trust you."

"Sharp sticks?"

"Clint's arrows, I think. Was that your sister in the alley?"

"Yes. She went out to get me some medicine. She was taking too long. She promised me she wouldn't take too long. I went out. The bad guys had got her and now she's gonna die. The goblin man said next time he caught her he would kill her, and now she's gone."

The little boy buried his head in his knees and sobbed. Tasha and Tony looked at each other. It was obvious that the boy was exhausted from both the run and being sick.

"Your sister isn't dead," Tony said. "My friend with the arrows was going to help her, not hurt her. I promise you we're not bad people. If you let us, we can help you and your sister. Get you some medicine and get her help."

The boy looked gobsmacked, as if the idea that his sister wasn't really gone forever hadn't ever crossed his mind.

"You won't give us back to the Goblin man?" the boy asked suspiciously. "Or put us into a home and separate us again?"

"I promise," Tony replied, but that wasn't good enough for the little boy.

"Swear," he said, "swear on your heart."

"I swear on my heart," Tony said obediently. The boy looked expectantly at Natasha.

Once she had sworn, the boy crawled out and the two superheroes got their first good look at him. He had light brown hair and blue eyes, he looked up at them, shivering from the cold. Natasha took off her own jacket and put it around the boy as she picked him up.

"Come on buddy," Tony said. "Let's go find your sister."

'Never trust strangers.' It was a lesson his parents and then his sister, had ingrained into him. 'Never trust them, even if they say they'll help you.'

He had gone against his sister when he had crawled out of their camp and allowed the woman to pick him up. It felt good to be warm and the jacket felt soft against his skin.

As the woman walked with him in her arms, Peter eyed the man walking next to them suspiciously. "You gots weird skin, mister," he said.

The man gave him a grin in return. He held out his hand for the boy to inspect. "It's metal," the man explained, " I created it myself. I wear it like you wear clothes."

"So it's not skin?" He narrowed his eyes, he'd never heard of anyone walking around in a suit of metal before.

"It's not skin," the man replied. "How old are you?"

"Five and a half," Peter replied.

"How long have you and your sister been homeless?" the nice lady carrying him asked.

"Sis says mom and dad died when I was two, that's why I don't remember them too well. Goblin man let us live with him but he was mean to sis and me so we ran away during the earth shake," Peter said. Why was he telling these strangers this stuff that Gwen had told him never to tell anyone? He yawned then, snuggling farther into the warmth of the oversized jacket.

"Goblin man?" the nice lady said, "Who's that?"

"He's the goblin man," Peter replied.

He missed the look that the two adults exchanged over his head. He was so tired. He was just falling asleep when he saw something that forced him wide awake.

"Gwen!" he cried, struggling against the woman's arms. "Gwen!" His sister was limp in the man with the sharp sticks -arrows- arms. "Is she dead?" Peter looked fearfully from the man carrying her to his sister.

"She's not dead," the man said. "They drugged her. She's just unconscious."

"What color?" Peter asked. He felt four pairs of eyes on him at once at the question.

"What color what?" Arrow man asked.

"What color was the stuff in the needle?" he clarified.

"It was a yellow green."

"She'll be out of it for about twelve hours at least then," Peter said. "Yellow green, right? It wasn't a lime-green or light purple?"

"It was a light yellow-green if the stuff in the second needle was the same as the first," arrow man said.

"There was a second?" Peter chewed his bottom lip. "That's not good."

Just as Arrow man opened his mouth to say something, probably to ask 'why not?' the man next to him in red, white and blue spoke up.

"We should get back to the tower," he said. "Get her in bed and get some food into this little guy."

The man lead the way to a huge office building and lead them inside.

"So, we know the girl's name. Gwen right?" the man with the iron suit asked Peter. Peter nodded. "But we don't know yours."

"I'm Peter." He looked around curiously as the odd group got into the elevator. "Where are we going?"

"I own this building," Iron suit said. "It's mostly offices but the top five floors are where we live."

"All of you?"

"Yep. Where are you from Pete?"

Peter thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Sis told me once, but I forget."

"His parents died a few years ago, it's been him and his sister ever since," the woman explained. The elevator 'dinged' and the doors opened.

Peter blinked and looked around. Everything was sleek and modern, like the department stores that he would look in the windows of and wonder what it would be like to have a family and live there.

"You live here?" he asked, his voice incredulous.

"Sure do. Clint, why don't you take Gwen into one of the spare rooms and put her on the bed."

Peter looked alarmed at the thought of being separated from his sister. 'We're stronger together,' his sister had always said. 'If there's a breath left in my body I'll use it to come back to you and keep us together.'

"No," he shrieked, startling everyone in the room. "I wanna stay with Gwen." He struggled to be let down out of the lady's arms and when he did, he stumbled over to Arrow guy and latched onto Gwen's limp arm.

The guy with the star shield went down on one knee to look him in the eye. "Peter, I promise you that we are not going to try and separate you and your sister. We merely wish to get her into bed so she can rest properly and get some food and medicine in you for that cold. We'll show you which room she'll be in and then we'll go get something to eat in the kitchen, how 'bout that?"

Peter regarded him for a few seconds, his grip on his sister's arm loosening. "Swear on your heart?"

"I swear on my heart," the man replied. "Follow me."

**And that's the first chapter! Hopefully you all liked it, but if you could please take a couple of seconds to review and tell me what you thought it would be very appreciated!**

**Until next time,  
CaseClosed621**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone and welcome to the second chapter of Finding Family: Foundations! No long author's note this time, don't worry!**

**Enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters/ franchises belong to their respective owners. I don't not stand to make any monetary gain from the publication of this story.**

* * *

"Who is the tiny one?"

Tony sighed as a familiar blonde head walked from the training room to join him and Natasha in the rec room.

"His name is Peter," Tony replied. "He and his sister were attacked, his sister was drugged. We brought them back here to recover."

"Will not their parents worry for them?" Thor asked as the foursome of Clint, Steve, Peter and the unconscious Gwen disappeared into one of the spare rooms.

"Their parents are dead from what the boy told us. They've been living on the streets, running from something it seems, for months now. The boy also has abilities," Natasha said.

"Abilities?" Thor queried.

"I'll explain later, for now, let's get something started cooking. Peter looks like he hasn't had a proper meal in ages," she said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"What will we do with them?" Thor asked Tony as they followed the red-head into the kitchen.

"When the sister wakes up, we'll talk to her. We'll probably be able to get information that makes sense out of her. Then, with Fury's approval, we'll start training the boy," Tony replied, watching absently as Tasha whirled around the kitchen preparing something that smelled amazingly good.

"You mean you guys have video games?" the child's voice carried from the hallway. "That's awesome! Will I be allowed to play?"

Steve appeared in the doorway, Peter perched on his shoulders, talking animatedly with the man.

"Of course you'll be allowed," Steve replied, swooping him off his shoulders and plunking him down in a chair at the table in the room. "And your sister too when she wakes."

As Steve turned to help Tasha with the final preparations of dinner, Peter eyed Thor with narrowed eyes. "Who are you?" the young boy asked.

Seeing that the thunder god was about to start his 'I am Thor, god of thunder, Son of Odin' routine, Tony cut him off quickly. Thor's thundery voice that more than lived up to his title would only scare the kid, not something they needed.

"This is our friend, Thor," he told the boy. "He stays with us too sometimes."

Peter's narrowed eyes lessened to an extent, but his distrust was still plain. "Will he swear on his heart?" the boy asked Tony.

"Probably," Tony replied. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Will you swear on your heart that you won't try and separate me and Gwen or give us back to the Goblin Man?"

"Swear on my heart? Why on my heart?"

"Sis says that the heart is the center of your being. Swearing on your life doesn't mean anything because people are too quick to give up their lives."

The adults in the room stared at the boy with mixed expressions of awe and surprise.

"I don't know what it means," Peter finished with a shrug. "But that's what she says."

"Well your sister is one smart girl," Thor said when he finally found his voice again. "Alright, I swear to you on my heart that I will do nothing to try and separate you from your sibling or give you back to this Goblin Man."

That seemed to appease Peter, as he turned to the grilled cheese sandwich that Natasha placed in front of him and began devouring it. As he ate, the rest of the adults began to eat as well as talk, being careful to keep the conversation light because of the child.

Peter was just reaching for the last half of his second sandwich when Tony noticed him stiffen, eyes trained on the door. Tony turned as Bruce Banner walked through the doorway, still in his white lab coat and looking haggard.

"Peter, this is our friend," Tony began as he turned back to the boy, hoping to calm Peter's fears right away. But the chair in which the kid had sat was empty. The sandwich half was gone and there was the sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway.

"Who's Peter?" Bruce asked.

"They'll fill you in," Natasha said, getting up from her place at the table hurriedly. Tony followed her out of the kitchen and down the hallway. They stopped at the closed door to the room where Gwen lay unconscious.

As Tony reached for the nob, Thor appeared behind them.

"There is magic in that room," he said, "Asgardian magic."

Tony raised his eyebrow and opened the door. He thought that the kid would've at least locked the door to try and keep them out. When he looked in the room though, he discovered why Peter hadn't bothered.

* * *

'Never trust a man in a white coat unless I tell you specifically that they're ok,' his sister had told him. 'Never, never, never go with them or even allow them within ten feet of you if you can help it. They're dangerous.'

Peter had never felt more scared in his life than when the man in white had walked through the door to the nice kitchen. Why had he trusted these people? Gwen had said to never trust strangers. But they had sworn on their hearts.

They never swore that they weren't working for Goblin Man.

He had reacted faster than he had thought, grabbing the half of the sandwich on his plate and ran under the table. He was the right size for that. Then he had dashed down the hall and into the room where Arrow man had put Gwen. The door shut behind him, he took five steps and leapt onto the bed beside her.

"Lab Rats," he whispered, curling up into his sister's side. He relaxed the tiniest bit as he felt the familiar tingle of Gwen's power surround them in a dome.

"Sis there are Lab Rats here. I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I trusted them and I shouldn't have trusted them. I messed everything up."

He looked up as the door opened and Iron suit, Thor and the nice Lady stood in the doorway. Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he pressed himself deeper into Gwen's side, hugging her limp arm like a favored stuffed animal.

"You swore," he said, his voice raspy with tears and sickness. "But you guys were Lab Rats all along, weren't you?"

"Pete," Iron guy started, "We're not-"

"Liar," Peter shouted. "You guys were all lying from the start. You don't want to help us at all. All you want to do is give us back to Goblin Man."

"Young one, I do not know what a 'Lab Rat' is but I am most assuredly not going to give you to a person who you fear," Thor said, stepping into the room and up to the shield. "What manner of magic is this barrier?"

"Magic?" Peter asked with a hiccup. "It's one of sis's abilities. That's why we were with the Goblin Man. He wanted to use her for tests and ex-spearmints. He hurt her so much. And you work for him. That man was a Lab Rat. You're going to give us back to him!"

Nice Lady spoke up then. "Thor, Tony, let's talk outside." She lowered her voice as she led them out of the room, leaving Peter and Gwen alone. Peter finally broke down and sobbed, worsening the hurt in his throat making him cry more. Finally, he had cried himself to sleep.

* * *

"It was Bruce," Natasha said as she closed the door softly behind them. "Well, Bruce's lab coat anyways. Both the men that attacked Gwen were wearing white coats and Peter called them 'lab rats.' Whoever they are, they're not good news."

"Who is this Goblin Man the boy speaks of?"

"Don't know," Tony replied. "That's the only name the kid seems to know him by. But he's scared stiff of him. Almost as scared as he is of losing his sister."

"Let's leave them alone for a moment, we can't get near them with that barrier thing in the way," Natasha said. "I think it's time for a meeting."

By the time the three made it out to the rec room, the rest of the Avengers team had assembled, waiting to hear the latest developments in one of the most interesting things to happen in their lives as of late.

"He got scared when he saw your lab coat Bruce," Natasha explained. "We think that whoever's after them wears that or something like it. That's why Peter reacted the way he did."

"What happened in there?" Steve asked.

"The girl has Asgardian magic," Thor announced. "She was able to produce a shield around her and the boy."

Well, that was a new development. "Do we know anything more about the Goblin Man that the kid keeps going on about?" Steve asked worriedly. "He sounds really scared of him."

"Terrified is more like it," Clint agreed.

"We don't," Natasha said. "Our best bet is to wait for his sister to wake up and clarify a few things for all of us. They shouldn't be left alone for too long though. Peter is sick and we don't know what reactions that drug might induce. I say we take watches. I'll go first."

"I will watch second," Thor volunteered.

"I'll keep an eye on them around four," Bruce said, "I'm usually up that early anyways."

"Sans lab coat," Tony reminded him. "And I'll keep an eye on the kids tomorrow morning."

They were in for a long night.

* * *

Gwen woke to the feeling of something shaking beside her. She looked down to see Peter shivering uncontrollably, clutching onto her arm for dear life. It was stark white, circulation a distant memory. The clothes on that side were sticky and wet with sweat.

"You're burning up Pete. Didn't I give you the medicine I got you?" She frowned, trying to remember. What had been the last thing that she remembered? When she finally figured it out, she wished she hadn't.

"I'm sorry sissy."

Gwen looked down again to see her little brother staring up at her with tear bright eyes. He looked worse than he had before. This was not what was supposed to be happening.

"Peter, what happened? And what are you apologizing for?" she asked, trying to clear her head from the drug induced fog it had been in.

"The Lab Rats had you and you gave me permission and told me to run, so I went back to camp but she followed me and to me she wasn't going to hurt me. Then her friend came and he said that you weren't dead and that they could help us. They swore on their hearts so I believed them. But we came here and they put you in a bed and gave me food but then a Lab Rat came in. They were with Goblin Man all along. I'm sorry sissy. I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have trusted them."

The words came out in a rush, almost too fast for Gwen's hazy mind to comprehend. She managed to get the catch most of it though. They were really in for it now.

A movement in the corner of the room caught her eye. She hugged Peter close to her as she locked eyes with the man sitting in a chair in the room. A book lay forgotten on a shelf beside him, a mug of something, coffee probably, sat beside it.

"Shhhhhhh, Peter." She rocked him gently. "It'll be alright. Everything will be fine, you'll see. Who are you?"

Accusing eyes bored into the man. "My name is Bruce Banner. My friends, Clint and Natasha, found you getting attacked and stepped in to help. When they found you had no family, they brought you here."

Gwen frowned. Bruce Banner? Why did that name sound familiar to her? "Is Clint the iron person Peter was talking about?"

"No, that's Tony. Clint was the guy with the bow and arrows," the man replied. "I'm afraid that I may have freaked your brother out a little bit by coming to the dinner table in my work clothes. You see, I'm a doctor and a lot of the time I work in my private lab that I have here in the building."

Gwen stiffened when she heard the words 'private lab,' but she forced herself to remain calm. "Where are we?"

"Stark Tower," the man replied.

"Are we still in the city?" Gwen asked. The man frowned, standing up and making his way over to the bed. He stopped a couple of feet away, unable to get closer because of the shield that was still in effect.

"You are still in the city," the man, Bruce, told her. "And I swear to you, we only want to help you-"

"What is your degree in?" Gwen cut him off.

"Biology. I focus on gamma radiation because of personal interest. How are you able to produce your shield?" He put his hand over his mouth, as if he hadn't been planning on asking that question.

"No clue. Are you interested because of healthy curiosity? Or because of professional reasons?" Gwen's eyes narrowed

"Professional curiosity," Bruce answered. "There's a reason I'm interested in gamma radiation." Gwen raised her eyebrow in a silent question. "Have you ever heard of the Avengers?"

"Heard of? Yes. Understand who they are or what they do? No." The man appeared surprised. "Could you please pass me my jacket?"

Bruce retrieved the jacket from the top of the dresser nearby and paused just outside the shield. The lavender colored magic turned particulate and retreated inside Gwen, who sat up on the bed, looking expectantly at her jacket. When Bruce handed it to her, she dug into her right pocket and sighed audibly with relief when her fingers wrapped around the bottle of medicine.

"Peter, I need you to sit up for me sweetie," she said as she read the label. As the younger boy sat up, she poured out the required dosage for his age group. "Alright Pete, drink this for me."

The man looked at the girl expectantly, waiting for her to reinstate the barrier.

"I can't." The sound of the girl's voice so suddenly made Bruce jump. He looked up to meet Gwen's eyes. "I can't. Can only do it when I'm asleep. I can keep it up when I'm awake but once I've called it off, I can't put it back up."

"Then why did you-"

"Recall it in the first place? Because Peter needed his medicine. And, because I trust you for the moment." Peter handed the little cup back to his sister and curled up at her side.

"You trust the Avengers?"

"The Avengers have nothing to do with it," Gwen replied. "I have my own reasons for trusting you, just like you've got your reasons for your professional interest in gamma rays. Now, I'm going to get some more shut eye. Even for me, it's too early to be awake. See you in the morning."

With that, she laid down and pulled her little brother close to her. She closed her eyes. "Don't prove my fears right."

* * *

After the two siblings had gone back to sleep, Bruce had sat watching them, trying to understand the girl's reasoning. His book lay forgotten beside him and his coffee grew cold as the sun slowly rose.

"Did anything happen?" Bruce jumped at the sound of the voice so close.

"I swear, even knowing that you're an assassin, it still freaks me out when you do that," he told Natasha.

"The barrier's down?" Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Did it go down on its own?"

"Gwen woke up in the middle of the night and took it down. She had gone out to get Peter some medicine and it turns out she was attacked on the way back. She made me hand her her jacket. She can only put it up when she's asleep."

"She told you that?"

"I did."

The two looked to see Gwen sitting up and stretching. Beside her, Peter was awake, staring at Natasha and Bruce.

"Now would someone please tell me what the Avengers had to do with anything we talked about last night?"

"You don't know who the Avengers are?" Natasha asked.

"I never said that. I know of them, but like I said last night, I still don't understand who they are or what they're about," Gwen replied, rolling to side at the edge of the bed.

"So then why did you trust me enough to keep the barrier down while you slept?" Bruce asked. It made sense though, she hadn't known what or where Stark tower was. He almost wasn't surprised that she didn't know much about the Avengers.

"I have my reasons for that," Gwen said, standing up. Bruce rushed forward to catch her before she could hit the ground as her legs gave out. "What color?"

"What color what?" Bruce asked at the same moment Natasha said, "Yellow-green."

"Shi-" Gwen started to say before she glanced at her brother who was wide awake at this point. "-Take mushrooms."

"Good cover," came a voice from the door. Bruce looked to see Tony standing there.

"You learn to do that when you live with kids," Gwen replied as she struggled to stand on her own. She bit her lip as her right leg gave out, making her lean heavily on Bruce. "Now, before this gets any farther, I believe we should all be introduced and last night should be explained to me from the beginning."

"How about breakfast first?" Natasha said, eyeing Peter and Gwen. "It'll give us time to wait for the rest of the crew to wake up."

"Rest of the crew?" Gwen echoed. She suddenly looked very nervous.

"There's just a couple more people," Bruce said as he watched her successfully stand and take a couple of tentative steps on her own. Watching her like a hawk in case she fell again. He frowned when she bent down to pick her brother up off the bed.

"I'll be fine," Gwen said, her back to him. "I've slept off most of the effects of the drug. I just needed to tell my muscles to start working again. Where's the kitchen and what's for breakfast?"

"So, you know what the drug was?" Tony asked, suddenly serious as Natasha lead the way to the kitchen.

"Not its name, no. But I know the effects. It's some kind of sedative and muscle relaxant rolled into one, I think. That's what it's always done to me."

"That stuff has been used on you before," Bruce asked, startled. Gwen neglected to answer as they walked into the kitchen.

"Now, you guys are going to sit down at the table and wait while I make breakfast," Natasha said, cutting off Gwen when she opened her mouth. "No if's, and's or but's. We brought you here to make sure that you were safe and to care for you. We expect nothing in return for this. So sit down with your brother."

With something that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a huff, Gwen sat down beside her brother, who was talking animatedly with Tony, who had just sat down at the table with a cup of coffee. After a second, Gwen's eyes widened.

"Are you Tony Stark?" she asked. "Of Stark Enterprises?"

"The one and only," Tony replied.

Gwen frowned. "I don't know whether to hit you or thank you."

Natasha covered her giggles while Bruce very quickly swallowed his coffee so he could laugh both at the comment and at the look on Tony's face.

"Don't worry, most people don't know the answer to that question," said a red haired woman, walking into the room. "Especially this early in the morning. Pepper Potts. I'm assuming that you two are Gwen and Peter?"

Gwen scowled. "Just how many people are there who know about us?" she demanded. "We try to keep a low profile for a very important reason. We've got people after us and I'm not keen on having a repeat of last night anytime soon."

"Calm down," Bruce said, the irony of the comment not lost on him. "We're not going to turn you two back onto the streets with this guy after you. There are only a few people who know you are here and we'll make sure that it stays that way. Remember what Natasha said earlier?"

"The man after us is smart and if you've run a background check on the two of us, like I think you have-" Gwen shot Tony a very dark look "-Then you'll have set off at least two of the red flags that he's got up. What did you find on us anyways?"

"That your last name is Parker and that your parents died a couple of years ago. Pretty much just enough to corroborate what your brother told us last night. I couldn't find records of your adoption or fostering in any of the federal files though," Tony replied. Pepper smacked the back of his head.

"That was for hacking into the government's files," she told him. "Something that you promised me you would refrain from doing."

"I said I wouldn't hack into Fury's files," Tony growled. "There's a difference."

As the two continued to bicker, Thor and Steve made their way into the kitchen.

"I don't know what you're making Tasha," Steve said. "But it smells wonderful."

"I agree," Thor said. "I see the magical Gwendolyn is awake."

Gwen frowned at the thunder god. "It's just Gwen," she said, "And I'm not magical."

"But of course you are," Thor replied. "How else would you have been able to produce a shield that could stand up to Mjolnir's power."

Everyone at the table stared at Thor with either a look of shock or one of confusion.

"You what?!" Bruce found that it was he who was having the outburst. "You took your hammer to that thing? Thor are you crazy?!"

"I did not, as you say, take my hammer to that thing," Thor replied. "I merely assessed her power levels through magical examination."

"Come again," Gwen said. "Did Bruce just say that he took some kind of hammer to my shield while we were sleeping?!" Her face held a mix of emotions between anger and fear.

"Yes, that's what Bruce said," Pepper replied, taking control of the conversation to keep certain parties from digging the hole they had made even deeper. "But that isn't what Thor did. Thor has magic-"

"Ok, before we go any further, I want people's names. I'm confused already," Gwen said, her tone the same as Pepper's was when she meant business.

"Natasha is the one making breakfast." It was Peter who spoke up, surprising everyone at the table. "She was the lady from last night. Tony is Iron guy that I told you about. Lab rat man is Bruce. I didn't catch everyone else's names."

"Lab Rat?" everyone at the table repeated questioningly.

"Explanations after introductions," Gwen said.

"I am Thor, god of thunder, son of Odin," Thor said. Gwen's reaction was to raise her eyebrows and then look at the rest of the table.

"Yes we are aware that he sounds like a mental case but no Asylum would take him," Tony said.

"My name is Steve Rodgers," Steve said.

"And Clint isn't here," Natasha said, "But he's the one who killed the two men who went after you last night."

"Sharp stick man," Peter chimed in.

"Arrows, Peter, they're called arrows," Gwen corrected. "Now, I'll assume you all are these Avengers people that I've heard about?"

"How could you-" Steve started.

"Not Know?" Gwen finished for him. "Me and Peter led a very sheltered life after our parents died. Now, tell me about what you guys do."

And so they told her. All about the Avengers initiative and their battles against Loki and the tesseract.

"So you guys are the people who save the world when evil comes calling," Gwen said in summary.

"Pretty much," Natasha replied. "Now, tell us about you and Peter."

Gwen eyed them, obviously trying to make up her mind on how much to tell them or even to tell at all.

"Our father was Richard Parker," she began. "He worked for Oscorp where he was head scientist. His main focus was gene splicing, particularly spiders, he loved spiders." She had what almost seemed to be a smile on her face as she remembered him. "Five years ago, give or take a few months, he brought home a specimen from the labs. It got out and bit Peter. When he grew a little bit older we found out the side effects of that bite and his powers. When Peter was two and a half, dad died."

Gwen's face clouded and her expression grew somber. "We stayed with our aunt and uncle for a month before Norman Osbourne got custody of us." Her eyes grew hard. "At first things were fine. We went to school, we played with his son, that all changed when he found out about me."

During the course of her speech, Peter had climbed into his sister's lap. Gwen held him as close as she could without suffocating him. "Peter had crawled into bed with me one night and activated my shield. When Osbourne came in the next morning to wake me up, my life became living hell. I was his little 'test subject' for a year. I hated it, being poked and prodded all the time. Never having enough sleep and wondering what round of drugs they were going to give me next to 'test' the effects of. Finally I'd had it. I broke out, took Peter with me and we've been running ever since."

Peter was sniffling by the end of it. His nose was looking red too. Gwen slid him out of her lap and onto his own chair. Then she disappeared down the hall, returning just as quickly with the bottle of children's medicine in her hand and the throw blanket from the living room thrown over her shoulder.

"Hope you don't mind," she said, wrapping her brother up and pouring out the required dosage of medicine. Her comment seemed to snap the Avengers out of whatever stupor her story had sent them into.

"He WHAT?!" Everyone winced as Bruce shouted so loud they were sure the interns on the floors below were shaking in their shoes. "He used you as a guinea pig!"

Gwen's eyes grew wide as a green tinge took on Bruce's skin and his muscles started to bulge.

"Bruce, calm down," Steve shouted.

"Gwen, Peter, why don't we go to your room and see if we can't find something else for you guys to wear?" Natasha said. Gwen merely scooped her brother into her arms at breakneck speed and Got out of the kitchen as fast as she could.

* * *

Once the kids, Pepper and Natasha were out of the way, Tony, Thor and Steve set about trying to calm down the rapidly going out of control Hulk.

"Bruce you need to calm down," Tony shouted.

"Hulk, we do not wish to contend with you in battle but if you continue on this path we will have no choice but to restrain you," Thor said, summoning Mjolnir to his hand.

It was at that moment that Clint walked into the kitchen. He took in the scene around him with an eyebrow raised. "Tony, what did you do this time?" he asked. It was well known that some of Tony's more harmful practical jokes could set off the big green beast.

"Why is it that whenever he hulks out it's always somehow my fault?" Tony asked to no one in particular. "I didn't do anything this time. We'll fill you in later damnit, now help us calm him down!"

With a roll of his eyes, Clint walked over to assist Bruce, who was slowly losing his muscles and green hue. After a couple of minutes, he was completely back to normal and the room was relatively intact, minus some of the dishes that had been on the table.

"Shit," Bruce said when he finally got control back. "Shit, shit, shit, shit."

"You know, it gets boring after a while if you just use the same word," Clint drawled.

"Shut up Barton," Bruce hissed. "I can't believe I did that. Dammit, and we were just starting to get her to trust us too."

* * *

**And that's the end of Chapter 2! **

**Just some responses to the reviews I got for the last chapter:**

**Midnight Bloom - In answer to your question, as of yet I don't have plans to put Peter in a mini-Spiderman costume. It might happen later but right now the answer is no.**

**Manicpanicgirl - I'm so glad that you liked the story so far!**

**Sailor Leia - You don't know what it means to me that you took the time to re-read the chapter and leave me a review. Thank you so much for everything that you've done to encourage me on this story!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it! If you all could just take a couple of seconds to leave me a review? I'm not the type of author who says that I won't update until I get a certain number of reviews, but I'm really nervous about posting this story because it's so like and so unlike some of the other stories out there and I'd really like some feedback.**

**Till next chapter,  
CaseClosed621  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Everyone! Sorry that I'm a little late posting this chapter. Time kinda got away from me the last couple of days. Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Spiderman or the Avengers. I don't own Lord of the Rings either (it gets mentioned in this chapter).**

* * *

Gwen wasn't exactly sure what to do when her story had finally come out. She hadn't had anyone to talk to in so long that the words just seemed to spill out of her mouth. They wanted to be heard. As she had waited in the silence that accompanied her story, she had turned her mind to what she normally turned it to, taking care of her little brother.

He had been cold, shivering as she'd held him in her lap. With a frown, she'd felt his forehead, what time had she given him his medicine last? She knew that there was a time restriction on that sort if thing. Four hours? Six hours? She didn't know. She didn't care at the moment. He needed medicine.

She'd eased her brother out of her lap and onto his own chair as she'd hurried back to the room they'd slept in the night before and grabbed the bottle from where she had left it on the night stand. As she passed through the living room, she spied the throw blanket on the back of the sofa. He needed to be kept warm.

"Hope you don't mind," Gwen said as she walked back into the kitchen, blanket thrown over her shoulder and bottle of bright red liquid in hand. Her comment seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back because as Peter handed her back the little cup she heard Dr. Banner shouting.

"He WHAT!" he roared. Gwen could only stare at the man in shock as his skin started to turn green and his biceps started to grow to epic proportions. She barely registered when Natasha suggested that they get out of the room. All that was on her mind was getting Peter and getting him somewhere safe. She flew out of the room, Natasha and the other woman, Pepper, on her heels.

Once in the bedroom, Gwen set her brother gently on the bed and turned around and locked the door behind her. It wouldn't hold if the monster really decided to show himself, but it made her feel better. On the bed, Peter was looking around in bewilderment.

"Why?"

Her simple question startled the other two women in the room. "Why what?" Natasha asked.

"Why did he go off?" Gwen clarified. "We're just two little nobody kids who happen to be in a bad situation. Lots of other kids have had worse done to them. Why would he hulk out over us?"

"Bruce has...personal reasons," Pepper said slowly. "He's been the victim of enough lab experiments in his time to be more than a little pissed when he hears about someone else being forced into it unwillingly."

"None of us are particularly thrilled about what happened to you either," Natasha said with a frown. "Why didn't he experiment on Peter too?"

"He didn't know," Gwen said. "I made darn sure that he never knew about Peter's powers. There's absolutely no way in the universe that I would allow him to go through that."

"Why did you say that to Tony earlier?" Pepper asked.

"Stark corporation funded Oscorp and their experiments," Gwen said bluntly as Pepper stifled a horrified gasp. "He pulled out though. It was his lack of funding that allowed opportunities for me to escape to come up."

"Gwen, I'm so sorry," Pepper said softly. Gwen merely met her eyes with an apathetic look.

"Don't be. We're out now. That's all I care about." She started pacing around the room, shooting glances at Pepper and Natasha from time to time.

"Why does Peter call him the Goblin man?" Natasha asked. Gwen froze in place mid turn and stared at the two women with wide eyes. She unfroze and walked over to the bed where Peter lay watching everything. She gathered her little brother in her arms and hugged him tight.

"Because that's what he is," she whispered before she laid down with Peter still in her arms and, to all appearances, went to sleep.

* * *

Tony watched as Clint digested all the information they had just given him.

"Well damn, of all the days for me to sleep in."

"Shut up and help think of a way to earn her trust again," Bruce cursed.

All the men looked up as Pepper and Natasha walked into the rec room. "She's asleep," Natasha announced, taking a seat next to Clint.

"Tony, do you remember Oscorp?" Pepper asked, her eyes watching him carefully.

Tony frowned. "Yes, they asked for funding and initially I gave it to them because I was interested in their glider technology, but when I found out that they were also doing human testing on people who weren't volunteers I pulled out. What's this all about Pep?"

"Norman Osbourne, CEO and Founder of Oscorp," Pepper said slowly. "Adoptee of Gwen and Peter Parker. Gwen was one of those test subjects."

"I'm lost," Clint said. "Why aren't we after the Bastard yet?"

"Because legally, we can't touch him," Pepper broke in before the conversation turned to 'suit up' mode. "And I highly doubt that Fury would appreciate his response team going after a high powered businessman who currently holds a military contract."

"That's not the only way to take him down," Tony said, an odd light in his eyes. Then he was up and bolting down the hallway towards the lift, calling for both Pepper and JARVIS.

With a sigh, Steve heaved himself up off the couch to follow after Pepper. "I'd better go after him. Someone's got to make sure that he doesn't cause an international incident."

"I think an international incident is the least of our worries if Tony Stark is angered," Thor said. "I don't believe I have ever actually seen him so serious about anything that wasn't his beloved suit before."

"Norman Osbourne has been a thorn in his side for a long time now," Natasha said. "The fact that he's been performing illegal experiments on a girl and threatening to do so on a little kid just means that he's not going to show mercy."

* * *

It was a few hours later when someone decided to pop into Gwen and Peter's room to check up on them. Gwen turned her head to watch as Clint Barton, aka Arrow Man, walked over to their bedside.

"Thank you," Gwen whispered softly, trying not to wake her brother. "Peter told me that you were the one who took down those two Lab Rats and saved me."

"Why do you call them Lab Rats?" Clint asked.

"They work for Osbourne. I assume that your teammates have filled you in?" At the man's nod, she continued. "They always wear lab coats, never take them off. They remind me of the rats that labs use to test things on. Hence the name, Lab Rats."

At that moment, Peter shifted in his sleep, wincing and curling into his sister further. Gwen just waited until her brother had settled before bringing a hand up to stroke his bangs away from his forehead. Clint caught sight of a scar right behind the boy's ear.

"Why are you doing all this for us?" Gwen asked. Good things always came with a price, she had learned. Most of the time, the price was entirely too high.

"Because we can," Clint said, "and because we want to. There are some good things in the world that are free, Gwen. We're not going to ask for anything in return from you or your brother."

She blinked up at him. How had he known what she was thinking?

"Dinner's going to be here soon. None of us felt like cooking so we ordered out. You guys like pizza? We didn't know what toppings you two liked so we just got a smorgasbord of everything. Thor will likely eat whatever we don't. The guy's appetite is huge. Everyone's in the rec room getting comfy and I think that Tony is picking out a movie."

Gwen just blinked at him again before she answered. "I never would have pegged you for a chatterbox."

"Most people don't," Clint replied. "Why don't we get you and your brother up and out so we can get some food?"

After waking a sleepy Peter and getting some more medicine in him, Gwen followed Clint Barton into the rec room where the rest of the Avengers were arguing over what movie to watch.

"Steve, for the love of all that is good, we are not watching the Wizard of Oz again," Tony said, exasperated.

Steve whined at Tony as Thor proposed, "Why do we not watch movie of the god who fell from the Mount Olympus?"

"Thor, that's a kids movie," Natasha said. "Why can't we watch Kate and Leopold?"

"Not that again."

Gwen looked up at the man beside her who had just entered into the fray opposite the Black Widow. She felt her brother's hand slip into hers as they stood in the doorway.

"We should watch something classic," Tony was saying.

"Kate and Leopold is a classic," Natasha countered.

"Is not," Clint said. "Do you know how many times I've seen that movie because of you?" He drifted away from Gwen and Peter to bicker with everyone.

They were all so busy arguing that no one noticed Bruce Banner walking in, pizza boxes in hand. He took in the scene and then rolled his eyes, crossing the room to get to Gwen and Peter. The trio watched in silence for a few moments.

"Lord of the Rings," Gwen said softly to Dr. Banner. He raised his eyebrow but nodded in agreement.

"You take the pizzas and sit on the couch," he said, handing the boxes to her. "I'll start the movie."

Gwen gave a slight smile to her partner in crime and got herself and Peter on the couch, swiping a few pieces of pizza for the both of them while Bruce fiddled with the TV for a few moments before the familiar haunting tune of the theme came on.

Everyone stopped arguing when the narrator began to speak. They stared at Gwen and Peter for a moment, then at Bruce who was casually getting a piece of green pepper and mushroom pizza from a box.

"It's a classic," Bruce said. "It's also got romance, adventure, action and magic. That should satisfy every requirement so can you all please stop bickering like children?"

"Shhh." All eyes turned to Peter, who held a tiny, five year old, finger to his lips, looking the epitome of cute. "Movie's starting."

No one could find it in their heart to argue with the boy, so they just got their food and settled in for the movie.

Gwen's choice had been a good one. There wasn't any advanced technology to confuse Steve or Thor. There was romance, which kept Natasha happy and enough action to keep the rest of the guys from complaining when things got mushy.

Around the time Frodo got stabbed, Peter started looking from his sister, to the pizza box, and back. Gwen understood his silent question, but she wasn't sure of the answer. Before she could ask though, the cheese pizza box was passed to her by Steve who looked pointedly at her. She flashed a half smile at him and allowed Peter to get another slice before taking one herself.

The movie was over all too soon and, despite Thor's wanting to begin the second movie right away, it was time for bed. Peter had stayed awake until the end of the movie, to everyone's surprise and Gwen had been the one to fall asleep.

"She prefers Two Towers," Peter explained as he shook her awake. "She doesn't like the ending of this one."

"I'm not one for endings period," Gwen said, yawning as she stood up. "Bed time Pete."

"Would you not be more comfortable in sleeping clothes?" Thor asked. Gwen blushed slightly and ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Umm, we don't have sleeping clothes Thor," Gwen said, suddenly self conscious in her worn and filthy jeans and t-shirt.

"I think I've got some pajamas that will fit you," Natasha spoke up. Gwen looked at her in surprise but the secret agent ignored the look. "And I'm sure we can find something for Peter. Do you guys want to get a shower?"

Peter looked up at his sister eagerly. She could sympathize, she hated the feeling of filth and dirt all over her. A warm shower would be more welcome than any of them could imagine at that moment. _'But nothing comes without a price.'_

"There's a shower in the bathroom connected to your bedroom," Tony said, looking down at his phone and sending a text. "Go get clean."

Peter all but dragged her through the hallway to their bedroom. "We're going to get clean, Gwen."

"Yes we are." She couldn't help but smile at the absolute joy that was present on her little brother's face. And then was overwhelmed by the sorrow that bubbled up in her._ 'He shouldn't be getting excited over something as simple as a shower. He should be getting this excited over Christmas and his birthday and going trick-or-treating on Halloween.'_

She followed Peter, who was all but bouncing, into the bathroom and stopped short when she saw the shower. The thing had to be state of the art, with more buttons than she knew what to do with.

"Gwen," a voice called from the bedroom, "Can I come in?"

"How do you work the shower?" A few seconds later, Natasha appeared with some towels and a set of pj's.

"The boys are working something out for Peter," Natasha said, setting the bundle down by the sink and walking over to the shower stall. She fiddled with the controls for a second and when the water came out, it was the perfect temperature. "Don't worry about using up all the hot water and take as long as you want. Steve said that he'd make Tony get Pepper to take you shopping tomorrow."

With that she was out of the room. Gwen stood frozen for a moment as Peter flew out of his clothes and stepped under the warm water. Then shook herself and turned to making sure her brother got himself clean.

Later, with Peter safely tucked in bed wearing an old, oversized shirt of Clint's, Gwen took her own shower. She felt the familiar pricking of tears behind her eyes. It wasn't the first time they had come but it was the first time since their father had died that she let them fall. Tears mingled with the shower water as she scrubbed her skin within an inch of its life and wondered if this time there might not be a price.

* * *

The next morning found Gwen and Peter up before the sun. They had learned quickly that in order to survive, you needed to be up before anyone else was. As a result, they found themselves alone in the huge kitchen at five in the morning.

"Can we get something to eat sis?" Peter asked. It was hard for him, he was surrounded by food after so long of not having enough of it; he didn't know how to control himself.

"I think we should wait for the rest of them to wake up Pete," Gwen said. "I really don't want us to get in trouble with them."

"Excuse me," came a light voice with an English accent.

Gwen jumped badly at the voice that came out of nowhere and everywhere at once and pushed Peter behind her protectively.

"I'm sorry for scaring you Miss Gwen," the voice came again. "My name is JARVIS and I am an artificial intelligence interface that Mr. Stark created. He said that if you woke up before the rest of the Avengers to help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen. He also had me bookmark the children's television channels."

"Sissy, where's the strange voice coming from?" Peter asked, more curious than scared.

"Speakers built into the walls, Mr. Peter," JARVIS answered him.

"Thank you JARVIS," Gwen said, still nervous of the AI.

"You're welcome Miss Gwen." Then the AI was silent.

Peter scrambled up to sit on the counter so he could watch his sister work. It was something left over from when they still had their dad. He was holed up at work or his basement laboratory so much that Gwen had to go down and unplug his computer to get him to eat. Peter was a handful as a baby, especially after his spidy powers had come to light, so Gwen had kept him by her as much as possible. When she was in the kitchen, his normal seat was the counter top right next to the fridge.

Gwen looked through the cabinets and refrigerator for something she could make herself and her brother for breakfast. She found a box of pancake mix and saw Peter's face light up as soon as he laid eyes on it. Pancakes it was.

* * *

Tony thought he was still asleep when he stumbled into the kitchen. First off, the clock read six thirty am, secondly, there was music playing that he knew for sure no one else in the tower listened to and thirdly, he smelled food.

Thor was sitting at the table watching Gwen make breakfast, singing along to the music that JARVIS had turned on in the background. Peter was sitting on the counter, wearing one of Clint's shirts and singing along with his sister.

A few moments later, the song ended and then Thor's rich baritone was filling the kitchen in a language that Tony didn't know. He went over to the counter and turned on the coffee maker, he wasn't getting back to sleep any time soon. When he turned around, Gwen was staring at the Norse god of thunder and lightning in shock and the pancake in the pan was burning.

"That sounds like your song sis," Peter commented from his perch on the counter. At her brother's voice, Gwen snapped out of whatever stupor his song had put her in and turned back to her cooking.

"What song would that be?" Thor asked.

"Peter, wash your hands and sit at the table please," Gwen said to her brother. "It's an old song that my mother used to sing to put me to sleep."

"Can you sing it Gwen, please?" The puppy dog eyes that Peter gave her as he sat down at the table made her cave.

"Go ahead Gwen," Tony said. "Don't stop on my account."

"Or mine," Thor said. "I am curious to hear this song. Especially when you have such a wonderful singing voice."

Gwen blushed and turned back to the stove. Half a second of silence and then there was a gorgeous, haunting melody that began. Both Tony and Gwen jumped a little when Thor's voice joined hers. His voice took over the melody as Gwen's voice rose in a soprano harmony.

Silence reigned in the room for minutes after the song was over. Gwen set a stack of pancakes that was easily a foot and a half tall in the middle of the table along with some syrup she had probably found in the back of the fridge and sat down next to her brother.

"That song is a well known one in Asgard," Thor said finally. "How did your mother come to know it?"

"She never told me," Gwen replied, picking at her food. "I thought that it was in an old form of Gaelic."

"You did the song justice, I have never heard it so well sung before," Thor said.

"Is it the apocalypse or something?" came Steve's voice from the door of the kitchen. "Because I could almost swear I'm seeing Tony awake before ten."

"Good morning to you too, Spangles," Tony said, getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee.

"Who made food?" Clint wandered into the kitchen, following his nose and still looking half asleep.

"Lady Gwen decided to make the breaking of the fast this morning," Thor informed him. "These 'pan cakes' are delicious."

"Glad you like them," Gwen said in a muted voice.

Tony watched as she pushed the syrup soaked pieces of pancake around her plate and then offered it to her brother, who took it happily. He was about to say something when Thor beat him to it.

"You should eat more Lady Gwendolyn," the god told the girl.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm not very hungry at the moment," Gwen replied, abruptly standing up and walking to the sink. The room was tense for a moment before Pepper walked in.

The red-head did a double take when she saw Tony Stark sitting at the table, but wisely decided not to comment on it. "I'm going to take you and Peter shopping today," Pepper announced. "Tasha said she would loan you some of her clothes so you wouldn't have to put your old ones back on."

Gwen looked at the woman, her expression unreadable, before she walked out of the room, pushing past Hawkeye, who was still standing in the doorway.

"What's wrong with her?" Tony asked.

"She's scared of us." Clint walked over to the table, sliding a few cakes onto a plate and began drenching them in syrup as he continued. "She's been used by the person who her father held in high esteem and took her in. Now here we are, doing the same thing, she's wondering what the catch is and if she should get herself and her brother out before it's too late."

"Someone should go talk to her," Steve said, beginning to get up.

"Natasha's already on it," Clint replied.

* * *

Gwen was sitting on the bed, knees tucked up to her chest, when Natasha knocked on the door.

"I found some stuff that should fit you," the woman said. Gwen didn't even blink to acknowledge her presence. Setting the clothes on the dresser in the room, Natasha gingerly sat on the edge of the bed.

"What do you want?" There were tears in Gwen's eyes as she spoke. "Do you want your doctor to be able to run tests on me? For me to join your team? To pick up where Osborn's research left off?"

Natasha took a second to arrange her thoughts. This needed to be handled even more delicately than any spy mission. "When I was six, my parents were killed. I would have died too, except someone saved me. They took me to a place called the Red Room Academy and began to train me. I killed for them, did things that I regret for them. Then I found out that they were the people who engineered my parent's deaths. I know what it's like to be used, to not want to trust anyone, to look at anything good handed to you for the invisible strings."

Gwen had gone stiff as she spoke. Watching her with unreadable eyes.

"I know what it's like and I won't put another person in the situation I was in. We were all freaks before we were brought together and we each see ourselves in you two. This is our chance to keep you two from living the lives that we did."

"Will you come?" Natasha looked into Gwen's eyes and saw all the words that the girl couldn't bring herself to say. She was scared, she was confused, and at the moment, Natasha was the only person in the tower she truly trusted.

"A girl's day out? I wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If you all would just take a moment to review and tell me what you think? I also want to thank those of you who reviewed last time. Thank you all for being so supportive of this story.**

**Until next chapter,  
CaseClosed621**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone and welcome to chapter 4 of Finding Family: Foundations! A quick note before you start the chapter. My schedule changes next week and I will not be able to keep up with the every Thursday schedule that I've been trying to keep. So I'm just gonna start updating on Fridays instead. It's my free(ish) day and its just before the weekend so you guys get a chapter to start off the best part of the week!**

**Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers or Spiderman, nor do I seek to make any monetary gain from the publication of this story. I simply like to borrow the characters and mess with their heads. I'll return them (mostly) unharmed when I'm done.**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

The four had headed off to the mall once Peter had gotten dressed in the outfit Pepper brought with her for him and Gwen had calmed down. The boys had wisely decided not to comment on Gwen's sudden exit from the kitchen when she walked out of her room behind Natasha.

They had started with Peter, him being the easier of the two to shop for. Pepper went crazy with Tony's credit card and Gwen had winced when she'd seen the final price. New sneakers, jeans and t-shirts, a heavy winter coat and gloves and hat, everything that she had desperately wished to get him. Dressed in all new clothes, he was hardly recognizable.

Once Peter's shopping was done, Pepper took him and went off exploring the mall. Natasha could see the conflict in Gwen, torn between wanting to keep her brother at her side at all costs, and the knowledge that he was safe now.

"He won't get hurt," Natasha murmured to Gwen as they watched Pepper and Peter walk away, holding hands. "We've had bodyguards tailing us all day. If anyone comes looking for you two, he won't get hurt."

Gwen nodded as she allowed Natasha to lead her away.

It took Natasha all of two minutes to realize how hard the shopping trip was going to be. Gwen was sticking to plain clothes, scouring the sales and clearance racks for the cheapest things she could find. While Gwen was in the dressing rooms, Natasha went back to the clothes section, grabbing the items she'd seen the girl eyeing, but not pick up. She wasn't prepared for the sight that met her when Gwen stepped out of the fitting room in the first outfit.

"How old are you Gwen?" Natasha asked.

"I'll be sixteen soon," Gwen replied, looking very, very uncomfortable in her own skin.

Up until that moment, the girl had been wearing clothes that were too big for her frame. Now she was wearing close cut jeans and a shirt that formed to her body. She was skinny, unhealthily so. Her wrist was bony and Natasha could see the bottom of her ribs sticking out through the shirt.

"You guys really had it bad, didn't you?" Natasha asked quietly as she tugged at the clothes to check the fit.

"I was thin even before. Da always said I ate like a bird. I was a size six but I seemed to have shrunk."

"Try these on," Natasha said, shoving the things she had gathered into Gwen's arms. "When we're done here we have a few more places to go."

Gwen was sulking as they left the store.

"You didn't have to buy those things. We've bought so much already-"

"You looked great in it and how many times do I have to tell you that whatever we spend today is going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the money that Tony's got?"

"But, still-"

"No buts."

It had been funny to see Gwen's face when they stopped in front of the next store. Natasha hadn't known humans could turn that color red.

"Do you know what size you are?" she asked Gwen as she drug her into the pink themed store.

"Not any more," Gwen said, mortified at her surroundings.

"Alright, then you'll need to be fitted." Natasha frowned, suddenly thinking of something. "Wait, what are you wearing now?"

"There was an old t-shirt that was beyond hope of being able to wear. I cut it up and used it to bind them down."

Gwen had been very happy to leave that particular store.

They got into an argument at the shoe store. Natasha had wanted to get Gwen several pairs of shoes, including some heels. Gwen had stubbornly stood her ground, saying that all she needed was a single pair of sturdy sneakers. They walked out of the store with three pairs of shoes; sneakers, boots and a pair of low heels.

They met up with Pepper and Peter going into the bookstore. One look at Gwen's face told Natasha that they had a bookworm on their hands. She wasn't wrong.

After making sure that Peter was safe and happy in the kids section, Gwen had made a beeline for the rest of the store. The fiction section got stopped at first where Natasha let Gwen talk herself into asking for three books. Then Gwen let herself get lost in the rest of the store. Natasha eyebrows had risen at her choice in reading, some history books, science, one math book and a couple very heavy books on philosophy.

"I can get all this, right?" Gwen asked her shyly.

"Money spent on furthering knowledge is never wasted," Natasha replied.

They walked out of the store after checking out and had unanimously voted for ice cream. Gwen had dug out one of her new books and was reading as she ate. Peter was playing on a new handheld gaming system that had given his sister a heart attack when he'd first pulled it out.

"I bought it for him as a surprise," Pepper said before Gwen could completely blow a gasket. "He didn't ask me for it and no, I'm not going to take it back." The personal assistant had used the tone of voice she used on Tony when he was being particularly stubborn. Gwen had backed down and that had been the end of that.

Pepper and Natasha had been about to suggest they call it quits for the day when Peter stiffened and tugged on his sister's arm urgently.

"Gwen." The girl had looked up, taken one look at her brother's face and shut her book with a loud snap.

"Something's here," she said to Natasha and Pepper as she scanned the crowd. "Peter's danger sense is never wrong. If he's sensing something, then I trust him."

Natasha instantly went for the gun that she'd kept in her purse while Pepper called the bodyguard team to alert them that something was wrong. Gwen had gathered Peter and all their bags and they'd hurriedly made their way to the car.

On the way back to the tower, Gwen wouldn't stop looking out the back window of the car.

* * *

"I just got a call from Happy," Tony said as they stepped off the elevator. "He said that something happened at the mall. Did something attack?"

The rest of the team was looking just as frantic. Clint had a bow in hand and was in the process of strapping his high tech quiver to his back. Steve had his shield in hand and looked ready to throw it at a moment's notice. The clouds around the tower had grown dark and thunder started to rumble.

"Peter got a bad feeling," Pepper started.

"There were Lab Rats there," Gwen cut her off. "Don't try to lie, I saw what happened. There were three of them that followed us from the bookstore."

"I thought we got you out of there before you could see that," Pepper said.

The sound of 'Another One Bites the Dust' rang through the air, dispelling the tension in the room. "Stark," Tony said, flipping the phone open and pressing it to his ear. "Coulson, now is not a good time."

"Well make it a good time because I'm here," came a man's voice from the elevator behind them.

Gwen turned to find a man in his late thirties and impeccably dressed stepping out of the elevator car, phone in one hand and a briefcase in the other. On instinct, she pulled Peter behind her.

"Security Breach," Tony said, throwing his hands up in the air. "How do you keep hacking JARVIS? I just updated his software."

"S.H.I.E.L.D has its ways," the man said evasively. "Who are the kids?"

Gwen looked around the room. It was obvious that the Avengers knew the man, but whether he was friend or foe, she couldn't tell. Tony looked less than pleased at the man who had invaded his home while Clint and Natasha looked almost happy to see him. She observed the man warily, weighing her options and trying to decide if she should remove Peter from the situation.

"None of your or SHIELD's concern," Tony said. "What do you want?"

"Fury wants to know why there are currently two civilian minors residing in Avengers Tower."

"Well tell him to shove it and-"

"What Tony means," Steve cut Tony off before he could curse in front of the young child present in the room, "is that he doesn't believe it is SHIELD's business who resides in the tower or that it warrants an inquiry and official visit."

"No, but it is our business if the Avengers suddenly decide to suit up and go on an unauthorized mission," the man said.

Peter began to peek out from behind Gwen's legs. His danger sense wasn't going off, that was good, she supposed. Her older sister instincts, however, were still labeling this man as a potential threat until someone or something convinced her otherwise.

She bent her knees a little and held her arms behind her back a little bit. Peter knew this signal, he clambered up onto his sister's back. Gwen felt her little brother's arms latch around her neck and his legs lock around her midsection. He was strong enough that she didn't need to hold onto him anymore to keep him on. This way, Gwen knew where Peter was at all times, simultaneously keeping him out of trouble and protecting him. She couldn't keep count of the times that she'd fought like this.

She barely registered the argument that broke out between Tony, Steve and the new man. She was watching the rest of the team for any sign of hostility, any sign of them reaching for a weapon or shifting into a fighting stance. If that happened, it would be her signal to get someplace safe as fast as possible. Subtly, she shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and slid one foot ever so slightly behind the other. Peter tightened his grip, being careful not to choke her.

"Her name is Gwen and the boy's name is Peter," Tony all but shouted. "There, are you happy now? You got what you came for, now go back and tell your boss."

The man in the suit froze when he heard their names. Slowly, he turned to face them, his face between incredulous and shock. "Parker?" he asked.

Gwen didn't take the time to tell her body to react, it did that of its own accord. As soon as the man said their last name, she bolted out the nearest exit. The elevator doors were still open from when the man had stepped off them, she took them, then pressed the 'down' button.

As soon as the doors closed, she jumped and grabbed the emergency exit on the roof of the elevator car. Kicking it open and swinging herself out of it as the car started to move, Gwen took stock of the situation.

"Peter, can you web us to the top floor?"

In response, one of her brother's hands unlatched from around her neck and he aimed it for the roof of the shaft. In a few seconds, they were up in the air. They stopped at the last set of doors.

"Help me with the door Pete," Gwen said. Peter slid off her back and together they managed to wrestle the doors open.

They stepped out onto a floor that looked like the penthouse. Gwen was looking for an easily defend-able place when her eyes lighted on an air vent in the ceiling. It was bigger than a normal vent, but that was all the better because that meant she could fit without a problem. She leapt up and managed to latch onto it, she fell to the ground and brought the grate with her.

It was a testimony to how well they knew each other that Peter didn't even have to ask what the plan was. He took a running leap, using his sister's back as a launching pad, and landed in the air vent. Gwen leapt again and pulled herself into the ventilation system beside her brother. Peter shot a web at the grate and pulled it up so his sister could put it back in place.

They had to go single file, crawling on all fours in the vent system. It was dark, not like in the movies where the hero had light to see and make their way by. The only light they had were from the places where there were grates leading to other rooms in the tower.

"Sis," Peter said in a whisper, "what's going to happen now?"

"Don't know Pete," Gwen replied truthfully. "I don't know."

* * *

Natasha could have punched Coulson. So, for that matter, could any of the other Avengers. She had seen the way Gwen and Peter reacted when the SHIELD agent had stepped off the elevator. Peter had been curious, but wary. Gwen had geared up for fight or flight.

Natasha had been careful to broadcast signs to Gwen that this man could be trusted. She'd allowed a slight smile on her face and had kept her hands at ease. Clint picked up on it and did the same. He had slung his bow across his back and stood easy and open. Gwen had been on the fence and Natasha had hoped to diffuse the situation, until Coulson had opened his big mouth.

The girl had been off like a shot, rocketing into the elevator faster than she had been able to comprehend. The numbers soon started descending, they were probably going to try for the exit on the ground floor.

It was seconds later when everyone else caught up with what had happened.

"JARVIS, lock down the tower. No one goes in or out," Tony called into the air. "And go through the security cameras, see if you can find where they are in the building." The hard look in Tony Stark's eyes was a look that Tasha hoped would never be turned on her. He balled up his hand and reared back to slug the agent.

Steve beat him to it.

"Thor, Bruce, take the other elevator and head for the ground floor, intercept them if that's where they are. Tony, control room watching the security feed. Natasha, Clint and I will search the rest of the building for them. Pepper, why don't you escort our guest out." Calmly, as if he hadn't just punched a man in the jaw, Steve turned on his heel and made his way for the stairs.

"Go Captain," Clint murmured beside her. "Where do you wanna start?"

"I'll take the floors just below us," Natasha replied. "They might only be hiding, not looking to escape. Why don't you try the offices?"

Everyone went their separate ways to their assignments.

* * *

They'd been in the air vents for hours. Peter was getting bored, but he knew better than to start making noises. Gwen was on her side, back to the cool, hard metal of the tunnel and Peter had tucked himself up against her chest.

She had gone to sleep after they had crawled around for an hour or so. They were at a junction where three tunnels met, clear lines of sight on all sides. She'd made sure to go to a different floor too, in case someone noticed that the vent they'd come in through had been opened. Once she'd found a suitable spot, she'd willed herself to sleep. Peter had called up her shield and settled in for watch duty.

They'd done this several times before. Gwen was only able to call up her shield when she was asleep so as soon as she found a defend-able location, she'd go to sleep and Peter would invoke her power. Then he'd watch for a few hours until he either sensed danger and needed to wake his sister, or he felt sleepy and needed Gwen to take over.

He was grateful for the feeling of his sister's power surrounding them, like the security blanket he'd had when he was little. Nothing could hurt him when he was in the bubble. Gwen wouldn't let anything thing hurt him.

Peter had been so scared when the strange man had said their name. Was he from Oscorp? Was he going to take them back to Goblin Man? A lot of business people wore suits, he knew that much. He didn't look like a Lab Rat though. Was Goblin Man trying something new? A new tac-tic. That was what his sister called it.

From the left, there was a strange noise. What was it? It sounded like fabric swishing.

Peter tilted his head so he could see. The sound was getting louder, and closer. Had someone found their hiding place? Shadows bounced on the metal walls and suddenly, there was a bright light in his eyes. He blinked the spots out of his eyes and caught sight of a hunched up figure crawling towards them.

He poked Gwen in the side to wake her up. She squirmed a little bit, but her eyes didn't open. The figure was getting closer now. He couldn't see a face because of the light. Peter pinched Gwen's arm. That worked. Her body went stiff behind him, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"Gwen? Peter? Is that you?" That was Sharp Sti- Arrow Man's voice. He was crawling towards them, a light on a band around his head. "Guys, I've got them. No injuries that I can see. Gwen, Peter, are you alright?"

Gwen didn't answer the man as he stopped beside them, knowing better than to try and touch the shield. Peter could see he was relieved to see them.

"Gwen's got a shield up and isn't responding to me." There was no one there with Arrow Man. Who was he talking to? "Tasha, any advice?" The man seemed to stop and listen for a moment before he spoke again. "Gwen, talk to me please. I need to at least know that you and Peter are alright. You don't have to take the shield down. Just answer yes or no."

"We're fine," was Gwen's clipped answer.

"We've been worried sick. You've been gone for nearly six hours. Banner's on the verge of hulking out again and Thor's about to go flying through the city to find you guys. Pepper's beside herself. Can we get out of here? Head back to the others and check you guys over?"

"What's SHIELD?" Gwen asked.

"Top secret government organization that we work for. Coulson is a friend of sorts. He wasn't going to hurt you."

"There are more ways than one to hurt someone," Gwen retorted.

"He's not going to give you back to Osbourne either," Arrow man said. "I think Tony would rip him apart if he tried."

"Gwen? Peter? Clint?" Another figure crawled towards the group. This one slimmer and more graceful. Natasha.

Peter felt Gwen relax when she heard the woman's voice. Peter wasn't sure what nice lady had done to earn her trust, but if Gwen trusted her, he did too.

"Gwen, let the shield down," Nice lady said. "Let's get out of this vent. You can't hold out much longer and Peter needs food."

The bubble of power didn't go away.

"No strings attached Gwen," Natasha said, her voice gentler. "We swore on our hearts, remember? Let's get out of here."

With an exhausted sigh, the shield surrounding Peter and Gwen went particulate and disappeared. Natasha smiled as Peter shuffled out of his sister's grasp. Gwen's movements were slow and jerky, almost like a robot's. Peter knew the signs of Gwen's imminent exhaustion collapse. Holding up the shield didn't take all that much out of her, but it still took some. She'd been on alert since early afternoon and had yet to let down her guard. That coupled with the fact that she hadn't eaten or gotten very much sleep the night before meant that she was going to crash very soon.

Arrow man lead them to a vent grate and kicked it out, then lowered himself to the ground. He reached up his arms and Peter found himself being lowered very gently out of the opening. Once his feet were safely back on solid ground, Gwen was passed down. She wobbled a bit when her feet touched down, but kept her balance. Nice lady leapt down, landing silently.

"Come on guys," Arrow man said. He picked Peter up and lead the way to the elevator. When the door opened, they stepped in and Natasha pressed the button for the floor they wanted.

"You guys had everyone very worried," Natasha said. "Are you sure you're alright? No scratches or bruises or anything?"

Both Peter and Gwen shook their heads. Gwen clasped onto the railing of the elevator car with white knuckles.

"Gwen," Peter said, "You gonna be ok?"

His sister didn't answer him. Instead, she turned to Natasha.

"Nothing's going to happen right?" she asked. "You aren't going to send us away or give us to SHIELD?"

"We swore, didn't we Gwen?" Nice Lady replied. "We're going to keep you two safe."

"Good," Gwen said as the elevator doors opened. She moved to follow Arrow man, but didn't make it for more than a step before she collapsed.

"Gwen!" Natasha knelt down next to the unconscious girl, checking her pulse and looking for any sign of injury.

"Natasha, what happened?" The man who was not a Lab Rat was there, kneeling next to Nice Lady and asking her questions.

"She just collapsed. She said that they weren't hurt but she wasn't looking so good. Her face was pale and she was sweating. She could barely stand upright."

"She did too much." Everyone looked at Peter when he spoke up. "She barely ate today. She's been using her powers since the mall and she hasn't slept too well lately. It happens when she forgets to take care of herself. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

"Are you sure Peter?" Lab Rat man asked him. "You're sure that's all it is? She didn't hurt herself when you guys were running or anything?"

"I'm positive," Peter said, indignant. "I may be five but I'm not stupid. This has happened before. Once she wakes up, she'll be fine."

* * *

**And that's it for chapter 4. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please, take a moment or three to review and tell me what you think. Thanks to everyone so far who has reviewed, favorited or added this story to your alert lists!**

**Until next chapter!  
CaseClosed621  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update. My computer was in the shop and unfortunately they had to wipe my hard drive. I did NOT lose any bit of this story though. I've kept this story stored in at least two places since the start so if one of them was ever compromised, I still had the other as backup. What really took me so long was that since they had to wipe my hard drive, they wiped out my word processing unit so I had to figure out how to re-download it. But I'm back. Just a quick note, this chapter starts with Natasha's POV of the search for Gwen and Peter so don't be alarmed if it seems like we've gone backward a little bit.  
**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own it, nor do I claim to. You lawyers can cool your jets.**

* * *

"Hawk, what's your position?" Natasha spoke into her comm device.

"I've checked all our floors, there's no sign of them," came her partner's voice in her ear.

"I checked all the R&D floors." Dr. Banner's voice was tight with just barely controlled emotion. He was being very careful to keep his other half in check. "I doubt they would have hidden there, but it never hurts to be sure."

"Very true Bruce," Captain's voice rang through her ears. "According to Thor, they haven't tried to go through any of the doors on the ground floor. I think we need to change our strategy."

"I agree with Spangles." Even serious, Tony's attitude still made Natasha want to punch the man. "I just looked at the footage from the elevator they were in. I think we went in the wrong direction."

"Meaning what exactly?" That was Clint's voice again.

"I think they went up," Tony stated simply. "Gwen took the emergency exit on the roof the the elevator they were in."

All the lines were silent for a moment before the sound of Steve cursing could be heard. "Alright, I want everyone to the top floors asap. Tony, you're still on security feed in case we're wrong and they try to get out another way."

Everyone chorused their agreement and Natasha made her way to the nearest elevator. She punched the button for the top floor and leaned her head against the cool metal interior. The pair had been missing for just over five hours now and everyone was getting more than a little bit scared.

What if they hadn't reacted fast enough and they were already out of the building? What if Osbourne had caught them again? What if they never came back? Natasha wasn't sure which one of the last two was worse. The duo had been at the tower for all of two days and already she had grown attached. She didn't want to know what that said about her at the moment. All she knew was that she felt overly protective of the pair, and judging from the way the rest of her teammates were coping with the situation, she was willing to bet she wasn't the only one.

The soft 'ding' of the elevator told her that she had arrived at the top of the tower. Her and Clint's floor. Clint had insisted on having the top floor, his name was Hawkeye for a reason. As she stepped off the elevator, her eyes were scanning the room for anything out of place. Something that would tell her that someone other than herself or her partner had been there recently.

"Clint, did you take the vents?" Natasha asked into her comm.

"No. Been doing it the old fashioned way," came his reply. "Any reason?"

"I'm on our floor and it looks like the vent grate in the front room has been used recently."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's on backwards."

"I'm gonna take the nearest entrance and have a look around."

"Want me to meet you in there?" Natasha asked.

"Sure. You remember the layout?"

"You want any other back-up in there you two?" Captain asked.

"No offense Cap, but I practically live in these things." Clint's voice was echoing around him. "And Natasha knows her way around well enough. Anyone else up here would get lost in a heartbeat. I don't wanna have to run two rescue missions instead of one."

"You all meet us on the community floor," Natasha said. "They've been up there for hours so I'll bet that they're cold and hungry. You guys order out and someone find Peter's cold medicine. There's a good chance that it's gotten worse."

"Lady Natasha." Natasha raised her eyebrows when she heard Thor's voice at the other end of the comm link.

"What's up Thor?" she asked as she swung herself up into the ventilation system.

"I am sensing a large swell of magical energy on the third floor to the top of the tower."

"Is it Loki?" asked captain.

"No, it carries the same signature that Lady Gwen's magic carries. I believe that is where you will find them."

"Thanks Thor. Hawk, you copy?"

"Copy that. Heading that way now, meet you there."

Everything was silent on the comms for about fifteen minutes until everyone heard Clint calling Gwen and Peter's names.

"Guys, I've got them. No injuries that I can see. Gwen, Peter, are you alright?"

"Are they ok Clint?" Natasha asked, double timing through the tunnels.

"Gwen's got a shield up and isn't responding to me. Tasha, any advice?"

"Just keep them calm and talking till I get there. ETA to your position is ninety seconds," Natasha replied.

She could vaguely hear Clint's voice through the comms trying to get Gwen talking. As she neared their position, she could see Peter curled up against his sister's chest, both of them surrounded by Gwen's bubble of power and Clint talking to them.

"Gwen, Peter, Clint?" Natasha called. She saw Gwen's tense body relax as soon as she heard Natasha's voice. The girl's eyes snapped to meet Natasha's.

"Gwen, let the shield down." Natasha made sure to keep her voice soft. Gwen was on edge right now and if she were to go off... "Let's get out of this vent. You can't hold out much longer and Peter needs food."

The bubble of power didn't go away. Natasha had thought that the bit about Peter would work for sure.

"No strings attached Gwen," Natasha said, her voice even gentler than before. "We swore on our hearts, remember? Let's get out of here."

Both she and Clint held their breath as they waited. Then there was an enormous sigh and the shield turned to particles and retreated inside Gwen's body. Natasha allowed herself a smile as Peter crawled out of his sister's protective embrace.

Clint lead them to the nearest exit that was close to an elevator. He kicked out the grate and swung down to the ground the way he was taught in the circus. Gwen took Peter into her arms and then gently lowered him into Clint's waiting arms.

Natasha held out her hand to Gwen so the girl could get to the ground safely. Natasha's eyes narrowed when Gwen teetered precariously for a moment and it looked like she wouldn't be able to stay upright.

Once Natasha herself had leapt out of the vent, Clint lead the way to the elevator. Once she had pressed the button for the floor they wanted, Natasha turned to survey the two children. Peter was looking tired and he was probably hungry. He looked alright for having just spent the afternoon hiding out from the Avengers in the vent system. Gwen, on the other hand, looked like she was on death's doorstep. Her face was pale and she was sweating. Her knuckles were white where she was clinging to the railing of the elevator and she was swaying.

"Gwen," Peter said, "You gonna be ok?"

His sister didn't answer him. Instead, she turned to Natasha.

"Nothing's going to happen right?" she asked. "You aren't going to send us away or give us to SHIELD?"

Where is this coming from? Natasha wondered. Out loud, she said, "We swore, didn't we Gwen? We're going to keep you two safe."

"Good," Gwen said as the elevator doors opened. She moved to follow Clint, but didn't make it for more than a step before she collapsed.

"Gwen!" Natasha cried, rushing over to the fallen girl and checking her pulse.

"Natasha, what happened?" Bruce was there in a split second with his medical bag in hand.

"She just collapsed. She said that they weren't hurt but she wasn't looking so good. Her face was pale and she was sweating. She could barely stand upright." She had been asking if they were going to be alright, she knew she was about to collapse and she wanted to make sure Peter would be safe while she was out. Natasha was between strangling the girl for not telling her sooner, or strangling her for thinking that she and Peter wouldn't be safe.

"She did too much." Everyone looked at Peter when he spoke up. "She barely ate today. She's been using her powers since the mall and she hasn't slept too well lately. It happens when she forgets to take care of herself. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

"Are you sure Peter?" Bruce asked him. "You're sure that's all it is? She didn't hurt herself when you guys were running or anything?"

"I'm positive," Peter said, sounding indignant. "I may be five but I'm not stupid. This has happened before. Once she wakes up, she'll be fine."

"Then let's get her to the bedroom and let her rest," Clint said, scooping the unconscious girl up into his arms. "I'll put her in the room and you guys came explain to everyone what happened."

Clint went down the hallway as Natasha took Peter's hand and they headed to the rec room. The air of relief was palpable. Pepper, who had been a wreck since Gwen took off, zeroed in on Peter as soon as he walked into the room and swooped him up into her arms.

As Pepper shot Peter a thousand questions a minute, Natasha looked around the room to the rest of the team. She saw Steve frown and knew he noticed who was missing. A few seconds later, Clint appeared at her side.

"Where is Lady Gwen?" Thor asked with a worried face.

"She collapsed once we got her out of the vents. Peter says she overexerted herself and to let her rest. Clint laid her down in their room," Natasha explained.

"But Peter's alright?" Steve asked. "What did she do that took so much out of her?"

"Used too much magic," Peter spoke up from his place in Pepper's arms. "She's been using it since the mall this afternoon to keep and eye on me and then to find the Lab Rats that were there. She didn't eat much breakfast this morning and she didn't sleep last night."

"She didn't sleep at all?" Tony asked, speaking up for the first time. "What in the world was she doing? Teens can't be quiet for eight hours, it's not possible."

Peter shrugged. "She probably found a book to read."

Tony's snort told the rest of the room what he thought of that. Steve elbowed him in the ribs.

"We need to have a plan," Steve said. "If Gwen saw the Lab Rats then it can be assumed that they saw them as well as Natasha and Pepper. As high profile as Pepper is, it's almost certain that they'll put two and two together. We can expect more to be coming. We'll either have a legal custody battle on our hands or a physical, violent one."

"My hope is for the latter," Thor spoke up, cracking his enormous knuckles as he spoke. It was clear he hoped for a physical fight so he could bash the Goblin Man's head in.

"As much as I agree with that," Bruce spoke up. "I have a feeling it will most likely be of the legal sort. A man as high profile as the CEO of Oscorp doesn't strike me as the type to settle disputes with fists."

Tony snorted again. "The man is a more demented version of Hammer. My company is superior to his in every way, including in lawyers. If he wants custody of Peter and Gwen, he's going to have a fight on his hands either way."

By this point, Peter had started squirming in Pepper's arms. "I'm hungry," he mumbled as he dug his face into Pepper's neck.

"I'll make dinner," Clint said. "How long will Gwen sleep for Peter?"

"Tomorrow morning probably," the boy replied. "Maybe afternoon. She usually needs sweet stuff when she wakes up."

"Magical exhaustion," Thor said. "Honey usually works best but other natural syrups work as well. I do not suppose you would have any Osbarth sap on hand Tony?"

"Cooking is not my department," Tony said. "Never heard of it."

"That's because it doesn't exist," Natasha replied. "I think we'll just stick with honey. Thor, is there anything else we can do for Gwen when she wakes up?"

"Just make sure she doesn't push her limit again. She will need rest and of course, the honey. It is like any of you recovering from a wound."

Dinner went smoothly and halfway through, Peter started yawning so big that Tony said he'd start catching bugs in his mouth. Pepper just rolled her eyes and bundled Peter off to bed. She tucked him in next to Gwen and turned off the light.

* * *

The next morning, Peter was up with the sun. He looked to his sister to see that she was still as soundly asleep as she had been the previous night. That really must have taken a lot out of her. She doesn't usually sleep through the night for anything.

Becoming bored after a few minutes of sitting awake in bed, Peter wandered into the kitchen to see if he could find anything to eat. He found Thor, god of thunder, in the kitchen getting a box of poptarts out of the cabinet.

"Good morning Peter," his voice boomed. "How was your sleep?"

Peter blinked up at the big man in front of him. Normally he was scared of anyone really big, but he felt safe with Thor. "Slept good," he replied, "Sis is still asleep though."

"Well she used an enormous amount of her magic yesterday, it is little wonder she needs sleep to recuperate," Thor replied, watching Peter as he opened the refrigerator and stood on tiptoe to reach the milk on the top shelf.

"I know, I'm not worried. Will be if she sleeps longer than lunch time though." Peter huffed in frustration when he couldn't get his hands on the milk carton. Without thinking about it, he pointed his wrist at the item and shot a web, catching it neatly in the air.

"That is an impressive skill to have young Peter," Thor commented. "Were you born with it or did you acquire it somehow?"

"Sissy says a spider bit me when I was small and that's why I have these powers, but I don't believe her. She was bit by a spider a year ago and nothing happened to her." Peter gently set the milk on the table and went to get a cup. He leapt up on the counter and then to the top of the fridge to get to the cabinet where they were kept.

"Be careful young one," Thor said.

Peter frowned. "Why? I do this all the time. Sis says I shouldn't do it in the daytime or around strangers. But you all aren't strangers. Gwen trusts you so it's safe."

At that moment, Steve walked into the room. When he saw Peter on top of the refrigerator, he nearly dropped what he was holding. "Peter, get down from there! You could get hurt!"

"No I won't," Peter said as Steve walked over to him to help him down. "I've been much higher than that and never gotten a scratch. Besides, Thor was watching me."

"Be that as it may, you need to be careful when you climb things," Steve said as Peter poured himself a glass of milk.

"Steve, he's a kid. He's going to get into places where he's not supposed to be," came Clint's voice from the doorway. "God knows I got in tons of trouble doing that stuff when I was his age."

"You also got circus training and training in how to fall correctly by the time you were eight," Natasha shot back, walking in behind her partner. "And you didn't have whatever powers he's got that make him more prone to climbing than a normal kid."

"I climbed everywhere I wasn't supposed to be when I was his age and if Gwen is the type of sister I think she is, she'll have taught him how to fall without getting hurt by now," Clint retorted.

"And what kind of sister is she?" Peter asked, a hard edge to his voice when he heard the man say what sounded like a bad thing about his sister.

"Calm down buddy," Clint said. "I just meant that your sister is very protective of you and that means she loves you. It's a good thing, I promise."

"A very good thing," Thor agreed.

"Is Gwen up yet?" Bruce asked as he walked into the kitchen and over to the electric kettle to make himself some tea.

"Sis is still asleep," Peter told the man.

"I want to see her when she gets up to look her over and make sure she isn't hurt and didn't tell us," Bruce said.

Peter frowned at the man. Gwen trusted him, she seemed to trust all of the people in the tower, but that didn't mean he couldn't be concerned. "You're not going to hurt her? Or do ex-spearmints on her?"

"I swear on my heart I only want to make sure that she's alright Peter," Bruce said, going down on one knee to look Peter in the eye. "I know that you and your sister are wary of doctors, and for good reason, but she needs to be seen by someone who has some medical training."

"And just who, Doctor Banner, needs to be seen by someone with medical training?" a hard voice sounded from the entrance to the kitchen. All of the Avengers present looked up to find S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury standing there in all his eyepatch and trenchcoat glory.

* * *

Gwen had woken up to find Peter nowhere to be seen. Her first reaction had been pure terror. Peter wasn't beside her in bed. That meant one of two things had happened, either she was back in Oscorp, or Peter had gotten hurt. She knew without a doubt, which one was worse.

All those feelings and thoughts had run through her head in less than five seconds. That was how long it took for her brain to catch up with her instinct. She was lying in bed in Avengers Tower and while she wasn't to the point of trusting them with her life, she trusted them enough to leave Peter alone with them. From the sun that was coming in the windows, she judged that it was probably somewhere between eight-thirty and nine in the morning. She had slept in late.

Though, considering how much of her energy she had used up yesterday, she was almost surprised that she hadn't slept later. Content in the knowledge that, for the moment, she didn't have to be worried for her life, Gwen stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. She splashed water on her face to wake her up and then ran a hand through her hair, absentmindedly wishing she knew where there was a hair brush.

Hearing voices coming from the direction of the kitchen, Gwen decided that it was time to go see what Peter had gotten into while she was asleep.

* * *

Everything in the kitchen froze for a moment when Fury walked in, then there was a flurry of movement. Steve stepped into the Director's direct line of sight while both Bruce and Thor moved in front of Peter, pushing him behind them protectively. Clint and Natasha stayed where they were, but they both stiffened, ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Well, I'm waiting. And while you're at it, I want to know why two civilian minors are currently residing in the tower."

"As I told Agent Coulson yesterday," Tony drawled, walking into the room and getting right into the director's face, "I don't see why that is any business of yours or of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s."

"It is if my response team suddenly decides to suit up and go on an unauthorized mission."

"And what are you going to do about it Nick?" Tony replied. "Because however long your reach is, it means nothing going up against mine. And I really don't think you want your entire team mad at you."

"Stark, I have no reason to fear you or whatever influences you may have. And you still haven't answered my question to my satisfaction yet." Fury's attention was drawn to Thor, who had a small face peering out at him from behind the god's legs. As soon as the boy got a good glimpse of the director of the most covert and most advanced militaristic force in the world, the small face disappeared. "And here I thought Coulson was kidding when he said there was a five year old in Avengers Tower."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Tony spat. "Cause you're going to have to get through every single one of us if you want them gone."

Fury raised the eyebrow that wasn't covered by the eyepatch. "And here I thought you didn't do kids Stark."

"People can change. Self-obsessed, volatile and doesn't play well with others, remember?" Tony shot back.

"You're still all that Tony," Steve said, getting between the director and the billionaire before blood could be drawn. "Coulson was not kidding, Director Fury, when he said that there was a five year old in the tower. He and his sister are going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

"Sister?" Fury asked.

Just as Steve was about to answer, there was a new voice added to the mix. "Uncle Blackbeard?"

* * *

**Can I just say that we have now reached my favorite part of this entire story? Tell me what you think! Please review and I'll see you all next time!  
CaseClosed621  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey Guys! Sorry this is late but Friday was a little hectic. The language Gwen speaks in this chapter is Italian, I used google translate for a lot of it so sorry for any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, anything recognizable is not mine.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

When she had first seen the strange man standing in the doorway, Gwen had been a little unnerved, but seeing as every single one of the avengers was in the room between him and Peter, she wasn't too worried.

But something in the back of her mind was trying to get her attention. She knew that voice. But she couldn't place where. He wasn't a lab rat, she remembered faces very well and his wasn't one of them. Besides, she had good feelings associated with the voice. Being happy and, amazingly, memories of her mother were coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Coulson was not kidding, Director Fury, when he said that there was a five year old in the tower," she heard Steve say. "He and his sister are going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

Fury. She knew that name. Suddenly, everything clicked. She stepped into the kitchen. "Uncle Blackbeard?"

Gwen knew she was right when he turned and she saw the eyepatch. With unadulterated joy, she launched herself at the man she thought of as an uncle.

"Gwen, you're getting a little too big for tackle hugs," Nick Fury replied, returning the hug, much to the shock of every one of the Avengers. "_Sei cresciuto._ (You've grown.)"

"_Sono passati otto anni da quando mi ha visto zio Nick_ (It's been eight years since you saw me last uncle Nick.)," Gwen replied in the same language. Her mouth started running faster than most people could comprehend that early in the morning, but Nick Fury answered all her questions and replied just as quick.

The kitchen was silent when Gwen finally wound down. Peter, after seeing his sister's reaction to the man, had gone it hid behind Gwen's legs, peeking up at the scary man.

"Uncle Blackbeard?" Tony asked, sounding like he was choking on something.

"I was seven and on a pirate kick at the time," Gwen said, picking up Peter and setting him on her hip. "Can you blame me? Peter, this is Uncle Nick. Remember, I told you about him?"

Peter nodded and hid his face in his sister's hair. Gwen smiled and placed a kiss to the top of her brother's head. She didn't blame him for being shy around the man in a black trenchcoat and eyepatch. She'd done the same thing when she'd first been introduce to the man.

"Hold on," Stark broke in. "Tony's not following this, Tony's very, very lost. Uncle Blackbeard?"

"You've been watching too much tv Tony," Bruce interrupted. "Can we please take this to the rec room? I have a feeling that this might take a while."

"Director," Natasha spoke up once they were all settled on the couches, "How do you know Gwen?"

"My mother and I were foreigners to the US when I was little. Uncle Nick was sent to make sure we were settled and that we weren't a threat," Gwen said.

"I thought you and Peter were brother and sister," Clint said, speaking up for the first time.

"Half," Gwen replied, holding Peter tighter to her. "Different fathers. I never knew mine but mom always said he was a brave warrior and that he died a hero. For all intents and purposes though, I considered Richard Parker my father."

"Where were you from originally?" Natasha asked.

"Everywhere, we moved around a lot. But the first place I can remember is Ireland."

"How many languages can you speak?" Steve asked, curious.

"Four fluently, English, Italian, Gaelic and Dutch. I can get by in about ten others. I'm probably about as well traveled as you all are."

"Why would Fury be sent after you to make sure you weren't a threat?" Clint asked. Gwen's eyes darkened at the question. She didn't want to think about that.

"She and her mother were chased across Europe and Asia since Gwen was less than a week old. When she was seven, S.H.I.E.L.D. took and interest in what the people who were chasing them were wasting resources tracking down. I was sent to contact her mother," Fury explained.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "You were sent in to find out if they needed to be eliminated," the russian spy accused.

"I was sent to find if there was a threat that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to eliminate. I wasn't supposed to kill unless absolutely necessary," Fury replied evenly.

Gwen was hugging Peter to her so tightly that he started squirming in her arms. She loosened her grip and smoothed his hair absently. Fury had been sent in with orders to identify their threat risk and to take them out if found that they posed one. She remembered the day that she and Fury had finally come face to face.

* * *

_Gwen loved Venice. She loved that there was water everywhere and that you had to take a boat to get to the grocery store. She didn't even mind the rain, it reminded her of London. _

"_Mama, desidero dormire (Mom, I want sleep)," she complained. They had taken the train that morning from Austria and had arrived in the city two hours ago. So far they'd done nothing but walk around in the rain. She was wet, she was tired and she was hungry. She knew better than to complain about the hunger. Her mother was doing the best that she could and Gwen knew that her mother was even hungrier than her._

"_Conosco, Gwen, Conosco. Aspetta ancora un po', ok? (I know, Gwen, I know. Just wait a little longer, ok?)" Her mother's voice was kind and gentle, holding Gwen's hand as they walked the streets of the watery, wet city. Her mother kept glancing behind them. She was always doing that, making sure that they weren't followed. That whoever was after them wasn't going to get them. Gwen had asked her mother several times exactly who was after them and why. She'd never gotten a good answer._

_After another hour's walking, they finally found a place that her mother decided would be good enough protection for them and Gwen collapsed in a heap in the corner, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the ground._

_It was several days later when her mother came back from getting supplies looking worried that Gwen knew something had happened. It had happened enough times before. She knew without being told to pack up her backpack. She shoved her two changes of clothes and extra pair of shoes in the worn pink, Winx Club backpack, then carefully made sure that Rosie, her stuffed dog, was securely in place._

_The whole process was done in less than three minutes. Mamma had always told her that she had to be the fastest seven year old in history at packing her bags up. She looked over to where her mother was standing in the doorway of the abandoned building they had been staying in. Gwen took one last glance around the room to make sure that there was nothing to say that they had ever been there. Another trick of survival taught to her by her mother._

_As they walked, Gwen's hand clasped almost desperately in her mother's, Gwen noticed her mother still on edge. Normally once they were on the move, her mother relaxed knowing that they were getting out of danger. She never let anyone see her._

_Her mother had just thrown a last glance over her shoulder when she looked down at Gwen with wide eyes. "Gwen, when I say so, you run. Run and don't look back." Her mother made it a point to always at least try to speak in the language of the country they were in. The fact that she wasn't bothering to try and blend in spoke volumes about the situation that they were in._

_Gwen nodded seriously, slipping her hand out of her mother's and immediately missing the warmth. Her mother looked behind them again. "Three," her mother whispered as they came up to an ally. "Two. One. Be safe."_

_They passed by the mouth of the little back street and suddenly what had been mother and daughter walking together, became a singular woman praying for her daughter to stay safe._

_As soon as she had melted into the shadows of the ally, Gwen took off at a sprint. She may have been seven, but her mother said to never let that hold her back. She could do anything adults could do and more if she simply focused and really willed herself to do it._

_She wound her way through the city, using what she remembered of her mother's map to get where she needed to go. It was the first plan her mother had ever taught her. If they ever got separated, Gwen was to go to a previously determined point in the city and wait for her mother and to stay out of sight._

_In Venice, they had decided on the Rialto bridge. It was always somewhere big that they chose, that meant there was always a crowd, meaning it would be easier for Gwen to disappear. Her mother never had any trouble finding her afterwards, no matter how big the crowd. If her mother didn't find her before nightfall, Gwen's emergency plan number two was to find a safe place to stay the night and then move onto their backup meeting place the next day._

_So far, they'd never had to use emergency plan number two, but Gwen had a sinking feeling in her gut that that was about to change. She finally got the the bridge, which was flooded with people and tourists, even this early in the season. She found a corner to tuck herself into, her back against a wall with three exit points and clear lines of sight. Shivering in the late April chill, she settled herself in to wait._

_Meeting point number two was Piazza di San Marco. St. Mark's Square. Gwen had spent the night before in a covered gondola, the bobbing of the boat rocking her to sleep. She had awoken before dawn and left before the owner had shown up. Then she had sat in a corner of a church just off the piazza and waited for her mother to show up. Her mother always showed up. Sometimes she was a little late, but she always showed up._

_As night fell and the church closed for the night, Gwen had been at a loss. They hadn't ever had to use plan two before, her mother had always come for her after about six hours to make sure that whoever was on their tail had been shaken._

_They'd never made a plan three, they hadn't ever had to use plan two so they didn't think they needed to have a back-up for the back-up. As she slipped out of the church, Gwen looked around, checking for possible people who might hurt her. San Marco's was lit up brilliantly. There were people selling little light up flyers that you launched into the air with a rubber band. It reminded her of the fireworks show she had seen back in Sweden._

_The bands for the restaurants were playing. She thought she recognized something from the show, My Fair Lady. Her mother had taken her to see that two years ago in Finchley. That night had been memorable for more than just the show. She glanced to her right, to the shops that lined the piazza._

_Gwen frowned. There was a man there in a black windbreaker. He was black and bald, but that wasn't what caught her eye. He was wearing sunglasses, at night. Normally blind people wore sunglasses no matter what time of day it was, but she didn't see a cane or guide dog or someone helping him around the city. He wasn't blind and it was nowhere near bright enough to need sunglasses. That made him suspicious and therefore, a possible threat._

_She turned left towards the main exit out of the square and turned left again, walking past the bridge of sighs. She looked back. The man in black was there, wandering along like any other tourist seeing Venice by the light of night. Gwen walked over another bridge and then turned left, deeper into the heart of the island. In one of the little squares that littered the city, she ducked into the mouth of a dark side street to watch. The man showed up in the square seconds later, looking around. _

_She heard a few curses in english. The man was probably an American then. That was odd. Normally the people who came after them spoke Irish. They must have found someone outside to take them down. Gwen slipped deeper into the shadows as the man looked around. Without warning, a pair of arms wrapped around her. One around her waist, pinning her arms to her side and one clamped tightly over her mouth._

_Gwen reacted immediately. She bit down hard on the hand over her mouth and kicked behind her. Her mother had always told her that a surefire way to get anyone off of her was to kick them in the private parts. It wasn't only guys who were susceptible to a good kick. The hands loosened and Gwen took the opportunity to slip out of them. The hands came at her again, one managed to get a grip on her arm and started pulling her back to the person. _

_Gwen didn't bother trying to fight against the force pulling on her, instead she went with it. She ran head first to the person, ducking at the last moment to slide between her attacker's legs. She gripped the wrist holding her and twisted. While she had him distracted and his balance compromised, she swiped a leg out from under the man and forced him forward. The alley she had hidden in was small and narrow, barely wide enough for one person to walk in. She held back a wince as she heard something hard come into contact with the brick wall. That was going to hurt._

_Gwen ran again, keeping to the back streets and dark alleys. She could hear footsteps behind her, her only thought being that she had to keep ahead of them, she had to keep running. Finally, she couldn't run anymore. She couldn't breathe and her side felt like it was on fire. She couldn't hear footsteps behind her anymore, but knew that the danger hadn't passed. Her body was telling her that she needed to find somewhere to rest for the night before she collapsed. In a corner of a random piazza, Gwen settled in for a long night._

_The night felt longer than the last two days put together. She dozed intermittently, jerking awake every thirty minutes or so. Each time she checked to make sure that she was still alone before drifting off again. An hour before dawn, she woke to the sound of voices. She froze, straining her ears to listen. The voices were speaking in Irish, that wasn't good._

_Gwen snuck closer quietly, just so she was close enough to hear what was being said. When she heard what the men were talking about, she wished she hadn't. They had captured her mother and were looking for her. They also said something about another player. As these two weren't the same men from last night, she could only assume that was who they were talking about.._

_She had heard enough to know she needed to get out of the city. She slipped away, forcing herself to move forward though all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. She wanted to be warm. She wanted to not be hungry. But more than anything, she wanted her mother there. Her mother to tell her that she was alright and that she wouldn't let anything happen to her, to tell her that they were safe._

_There was a Vaporetto stop a few streets over and the lines would start running in just under two hours. It was risky and they would probably be monitoring the water buses well, but it was her best shot at getting to the train station and out of Venice. She wasn't quite sure what to do about a ticket yet, but she would cross that bridge when she got to it._

_As she sat on the hard bench and watched the sun rise, she saw people begin to start their day. Lights came on in houses and the sounds of kids shouting and people yelling to get up met her ears. Half an hour later and the first Vaporetto of the morning came down the river. The attendants looked surprised at someone so young standing there with no parent in sight._

"_Dov'e' tua madre? (Where's your mother?)" one of them asked, getting down on one knee to look her in the eye._

"_Mia Madre sta dormendo (My mother is sleeping)," Gwen replied. "Ho bisogno di andare a casa di mia zia. Lei mi sta aspettando." (I need to go to my aunt's house. She is waiting for me.)_

_The attendant nodded, still looking unconvinced, but she allowed Gwen to get on the boat bus once the girl flashed a pass that her mother had gotten for her a few days prior._

_The ride was long and a bit boring, but Gwen entertained herself by checking her stuff and making sure she had what she needed. Then she pulled out Rosie and held her to her chest._

"_Hai un bel cane (You have a beautiful dog)," said the man sitting behind her. He had gotten on a few stops ago and he didn't look like any of the men chasing after her. He looked like he was born and raise Venetian._

"_Grazie (Thank you)," Gwen said shyly. There weren't many children born in Venice, as a result, many of the older generation often spoiled younger kids. Talks like the current one on the Vaporetto weren't uncommon._

"_Come si chiama? (What's her name?)" the man asked._

"_Si chiama Rosa (Her name is Rose)," Gwen replied._

"_Un bel nome (A beautiful name)," the man said._

"_Grazie," Gwen said again as the bus drew up to the pier a stop away from where she wanted to be. She stood up. "Ciao!" she called to the old man over her shoulder as she skipped off the boat._

_She got onto dry land and began walking in the direction of the train station. You never got off at the stop you wanted, always one or two stops away, to confuse anyone who might be following you on your true destination. _

_She was nearly there when a heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder. The grip wasn't strong enough to leave bruises, but it was enough to make sure she couldn't get away easily._

"_Don't scream or I'll make sure you never see your mother again," a harsh voice growled in her ear._

"_Mi dispiace (I'm sorry)," Gwen said. "Io non capisco l'inglese. (I don't understand English)"_

"_Non urlari o ti assicurarsi di non vedere tua madre (Don't scream or I'll make sure you never see your mother again)," the man hissed in her ear though they both knew that she spoke perfect English. "Si arrive tranquillamente (You will come quietly)."_

_Gwen wriggled a bit in his hold, trying to break free. The grip suddenly became so tight that she was afraid she would get her shoulder broken. The man, knowing for the moment that she couldn't get away, dug his hand into his pocket and brought out a phone which he flipped open and began speaking rapidly into. When he was finished, the man put his phone away and started dragging Gwen with him._

_Suddenly, from behind them, Gwen heard her name shouted._

"_Gwen! Gwen! Dove sei? (Where are you?)" The crowds parted to show what appeared to be a man frantically looking for someone. The man's eyes lit up when he saw Gwen in the man's grip. "Gwen!"_

_A few seconds later, Gwen found herself enveloped in a tight hug. As quickly as it had come, the man pulled away and spoke to the man who had been holding her._

"_Grazie per la ricerca di mia figlia (Thank you for finding my daughter)," the man who had hugged her said loudly. "Ero cosi spaventato. Pensavo di aver perso Gwen. (I was so scared. I thought I had lost you Gwen.)"_

_The man was making a scene. If the other man tried to take Gwen away from who everyone else perceived to be her father, the police would get called. Gwen knew enough about the people chasing her to know they wanted to avoid that at all costs._

_With a murderous glint in his eye, the man who had tried to kidnap her told the new man he was very welcome and then stalked away. Gwen used the momentary lapse in the new man's attention to try and slip away. His hand grabbed hers before she had even moved her foot._

_Gwen looked up at the man, getting a chance to study him for the first time. "Mi chiamo Clark Gregg. (My name is Clark Gregg)," the man told her, "E non c'e bisogno di avere paura di me. Si puo parlare in inglese? (And you don't have to be afraid of me. Can we please speak in English?)"_

"_You're the man who grabbed me last night," Gwen accused, narrowing her eyes._

_The man looked sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. See, me and my partner have been watching you and your mom for a while now. She's in trouble and there is a team extracting her as we speak. You looked like you could use a bit of help."_

"_Those people aren't the only ones after us. How do I know that you're not just trying to get us just like them?" Gwen said, trying to get her wrist back. The grip tightened, but not enough to hurt. She still wasn't getting out of it any time soon._

"_You don't and at the moment there's nothing I can do to convince you that I'm telling the truth," the man replied. "But it's my job to get you and your mother somewhere safe and I intend to do that."_

_They were in the middle of staring each other down when the man's phone rang._

"_Gregg," he answered. "I have her, stopped a man trying to rabbit with her. What's the situation?" He listened attentively for a moment before he pulled the cell away from his ear and handed the phone to Gwen. She looked at it suspiciously before taking it._

"_Hello," she said tentatively and nearly sobbed at the voice that spoke on the end._

"_Gwen, are you alright? I'm so sorry I wasn't there to meet you but I got held up." Her mother's voice was so good to hear. She sounded tired and like she needed a few days rest, but she was alive._

"_I'm fine mamma," Gwen said. "I was worried about you."_

"_I know you were Gwen, but you did very well. Now, I need you to listen really carefully to me." Gwen listened as her mother abruptly switched into her native language. After a few moments, Gwen handed the phone back to Clark Gregg._

_The man listened for a few moments before hanging up without saying good bye. "What did your mother tell you?" he asked Gwen._

_They hadn't been able to understand her mother then. "That she was safe and that you were taking me to see her and to be good," Gwen replied._

"_I will be once she gets checked out by our doctors," Clark Gregg replied, holding out his hand for Gwen to take._

_Gwen looked at him sharply, ignoring the hand. "She's hurt?" she demanded. "Where is she?"_

"_Calm down. She'll be fine. Whoever's after you two roughed her up a bit and she's exhausted from the events of the last few days. Nothing life threatening, I swear." He held out his hand again. "How about we find you something to eat? Gelato sound good?"_

_So that was how he was going to deal with her. He was going to treat her like a little kid and try to buy her trust with sweets. "Gelato sounds great," she replied. "But I shouldn't."_

"_Sure you can," the man replied as she took his hand. "I won't even tell your mom."_

"_Not my mom I'm worried about," Gwen replied, "It's my stomach. I haven't eaten in nearly four days. Something that rich in sugar is going to do more harm than good." She tilted her head and looked up at him. "What do I call you?"_

"_You can call me Mr. Clark. Why don't we get you some food?"_

_They had wandered around Venice for a while before they finally found a place that Gwen wanted to eat at. _

_She ordered spinach quiche and tea. The waiter had raised his eyebrows when she'd ordered the tea, but hadn't spoke. Mr. Clark had ordered coffee and a pastry._

"_Normally kids your age don't drink tea. And if they do, they take it with a ton of sugar and milk," Mr. Clark observed._

"_We stayed in London for a while," Gwen said. When the waiter returned moments later with her tea, her eyes lit up. She dumped the tea bag in the mug and filled it up with hot water. Then she began counting the seconds in her head. It needed to steep for five minutes and she didn't have a watch._

"_Do you want me to time it for you?" Mr. Clark asked. Gwen blinked at him, thrown off from her counting._

"_Yes please. Can you tell me when five minutes is up?"_

"_Of course. What language was your mother speaking to you?"_

"_Her native language," Gwen said evasively. "When do I get to go see her?"_

"_As soon as we finish breakfast. Where is your mother from?" Mr. Clark asked._

"_Don't know."_

_That seemed to throw the man off. "You mean, she's never told you?"_

"_It's safer that I don't know," Gwen said, her face deathly serious for a seven year old. "And even if I did know, I probably wouldn't tell you."_

_Mr. Clark frowned. Gwen stifled the urge to roll her eyes. Just because he was treating her to breakfast didn't mean that she trusted him. _

"_I thought your mother told you to be good and do what I tell you?" he asked. The parent card. Oldest play in the book and second only to the guilt card._

"_She said to be good. She never told me to trust you or tell you anything you don't need to know," Gwen corrected. "Don't twist my words. She'll tell you what you want to know, not me. Unless she tells me to say anything, my mouth is sealed. Now, is my five minutes up yet?"_

_The man looked put-out, almost sullen as he nodded his head. Gwen took the tea bag out and added what she liked. Two splenda packets and a dash of milk. She took a sip. Perfect._

_They were silent for a while. The waiter came with their food and they were still silent. Gwen ate as quickly as she could without getting herself sick on the first real meal she'd eaten in days. It would do her no good if she couldn't keep it down._

_When she was done, Mr. Clark paid the check and they left. "Do I get to see my mom now?" Gwen asked._

"_Yes Gwen, I'm taking you to see her." Mr. Clark held her hand as they made their way through the city. They came to a stop next to a normal looking house right beside the water. He flipped up a panel beside the door and pressed his hand on the flat surface. A moment later, the door was opened._

_Gwen rushed in before Mr. Clark could even take a step and shouted for her mother. She heard a weak answering call and followed the sound upstairs to a room._

* * *

**Sorry guys, had to split up the flashback in two parts. I promise that we meet Fury in the next one though. Let me know what you guys think and anyone who can tell me what tv show I very, _very _subtly referenced in this chapter gets a shout out in my next update.  
**

**See you all next chapter!  
CaseClosed621**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the long wait, life has been busy lately and I've hardly had time to write and then of course once I do get around to writing, I forget to post what I've written. I _finally_ got time to post today so I'm going to stop rambling and let you all get on with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story that you recognize.**

* * *

_Her mother was in a cot, blankets piled over her. Her skin nearly blended in with the white sheets. She was shaking, but she smiled when she saw Gwen. Gwen rushed over and took her mother's hand. It was cold and clammy._

"_Gwen," her mother's voice was faint, barely a whisper. "Thank the gods above you're safe. I'm sick Gwen so I'm going to go to sleep for a little while. Oz, Gwen." A few moments later, her mother passed out._

_Gwen searched the room and pierced the first person she saw with a look that said she wanted answers. "What's wrong with her?" she demanded._

"_She took a bad hit to the head and the people who had her weren't very nice to her," the man said, obviously screening his words._

_She was sick of people thinking she was a kid and couldn't handle a little bit of violence. She'd seen both the best and the worst of what the world had to offer, whatever had happened to her mother wasn't going to be the worst._

_Gwen changed her glare to a look that she had seen her mother wear when someone was talking in circles or wasn't giving her what she needed fast enough. She figured it would work just as well for her as it did for her mother._

"_Me and my mother have been separated for nearly three days," Gwen said, her voice level. "I am with people who I don't know and I am scared both for myself and my mother who is lying passed out on the cot. I don't care if the full explanation is too technical for me to understand, you are going to give it to me before I throw a temper tantrum."_

_The man looked at her like he was torn between laughing at her or taking her seriously. He looked like he was leaning towards the first thing. Gwen clenched her jaw and sucked in a big breath of air._

_Someone spoke before she could let out her scream._

"_Don't even think about doing that," a stern voice said from behind her. Gwen turned to see the man in black from the night before, minus the sunglasses. He had an eyepatch over his left eye. There was something about him that spoke of authority. As if he expected the air around him to do whatever he commanded._

"_Well I want to know what's wrong with my mother and he wasn't going to tell me," Gwen said._

"_That's because you don't need to kno-"_

"_She is my mother and I've been worried sick about her for three days," Gwen cut the new man off. "I am seven, not four. I've seen people die in front of me in gunfights, my mother hurt is nothing. I have a right to know."_

_The man who had been in the room from the beginning looked concerned with her announcement._

"_Last time I checked, you were not in charge here," eyepatch man said._

"_No, I have a feeling that you are," Gwen said. "Tell me or I'll scream."_

"_If you scream, you'll wake your mother up," eyepatch man countered. "She'll be mad at you for it. She needs her sleep."_

"_She knows I wouldn't scream without a reason. In fact, she'll probably be more mad at you that you didn't just tell me in the first place."_

"_Fine. Daniels, tell her." Eyepatch man turned on his heel and strode out of the room, the other man close behind. _

_Gwen went to the doorway so she could hear the heated argument playing out just down the hall._

"_She's just seven, Fury. She doesn't need to know. We don't know how she'll react-"_

"_Her psyche is not at the top of my priority list right now Daniels. Right now we need to get both her and her mother ready for transport and that'll go a hell of a lot easier if we don't have to deal with a screaming brat. Just tell her."_

_With that, the man stalked away and down the stairs, shouting orders as he walked. Gwen went over to sit on her mother's bed as the other man walked back into the room. He looked at her, as if it pained him to have to tell her this._

"_She has a severe concussion," he began. "That's when you hit your head really hard. They hurt her a lot. They hit her so she has some pretty bad bruises." He paused and Gwen knew he was still choosing his words carefully. "They stabbed her in the leg so she's lost some blood. Once we know her blood type, we'll be able to give her more."_

"_O negative," Gwen said._

_The man looked at her, then shook his head and spoke again. "Once we can get some of that, we'll be able to give it to her. She's got an infection from the wound so she's going to need medicine. We're going to be going to the nearest airport and flying you both to the United States."_

_Gwen nodded. Her mother would survive. She might be out of comission for a few months, but she'd survive._

"_So." Gwen looked up when the man spoke. "I hear you've had a rough couple of days. I'm a doctor, is it alright if I take a look at you?"_

_Gwen eyed the man as he came over to stand by her. She didn't like people touching her._

"_All I've got are a couple of bruises from Mr. Clark and the man he saved me from," she finally said. "I'm tired and weak because I haven't eaten or drunk anything for a few days. Other than that, I'm fine."_

"_Can I at least check your temperature?" the man bargained. Gwen thought it over and then nodded slowly._

_The man took a thermometer and put it in her ear. When it beeped, he took it out and looked at the number. "One hundred," he said. "You've got a slight fever. I'm going to give you something to bring that down. You need to swallow it with some water."_

"_Ok," Gwen replied. "When are we leaving?"_

"_In about half an hour," he replied, handing her the pill and a cup of water. "If you stay quiet, you can stay in here with your mom."_

_Gwen nodded and settled in to wait. People rushed around, in and out of the room she was in, packing and organizing. Finally, it was time to move._

_The man, he'd told her to just call him Mr. Jim, made sure that her mother was wrapped snugly in the blankets before her picked her up. Gwen hopped off the bed and followed him downstairs and outside. Beside the house was a huge boat. Mr. Jim lead the way onboard and Gwen followed him down to a little room below deck with some cots._

_He carefully placed her mother down and then turned to Gwen._

"_Do you need anything?" he asked her. "It's going to be a couple of hours till we get to the airport and about eleven hours from there before we get to the states."_

"_I'm fine," Gwen replied. She sat on the edge of her mother's bed._

_Five hours later, Gwen felt anything but fine. She was hungry again, and thirsty. Her head hurt her and she was cold. She was also bored. Mr. Jim kept on asking her if she needed anything but she kept telling him she was fine. _

_They were all in the back of a plane. There were three other people besides Eyepatch man, Mr. Jim and Mr. Clark. They were part of the team that had saved her mother. All of them were asleep except for eyepatch man. He was sitting on the bench across from her, reading through a file._

"_Are you a pirate?" Gwen asked. The man looked up at her._

"_Am I what?" he asked._

"_A pirate. You're wearing an eyepatch, pirates wear eye patches," Gwen explained. _

"_No, I am not a pirate," he answered stiffly, then looked back down to the papers in his hands._

_Silence reigned in the airplane for a few minutes._

"_I'm sorry."_

_Eyepatch man looked up at her. "What?" he asked._

"_I'm sorry I was being such a brat earlier," Gwen explained. "I was rude to you and Mr. Jim and Mr. Clark and I'm sorry."_

"_Accepted," Eyepatch man said. He looked down again, then sighed and looked back up at her. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"_

"_Most likely, but I can't," Gwen said. "It's too enclosed here, no way out. If something happens me and mom are sitting ducks."_

"_I didn't just send my team in there to bail your mother out of trouble just to kill you," he said. _

"_There have been people who pulled my mother out of the path of a bullet just to hold a different gun to her head," Gwen said._

"_Are you sure you're only seven?" Eyepatch man said after a few moments of silence._

"_I turn eight in a few months," Gwen said. "Mom says I'm jaded."_

"_She would be right," Eyepatch man said. "You haven't eaten anything in awhile, I've got a few energy bars in my bag."_

_Gwen looked at him, considering her options. She trusted him, to a point. Mom had said she could. That's why she had said Oz. It was their code word for someone that, for the moment, you could trust. It also meant that there was a possibility they could turn on you later on._

"_Get over here and eat, kid," Eyepatch man said. "I'm not gonna poison you. But I'm sure as hell gonna make sure you eat and sleep."_

_Gwen hopped off the bench and went to sit next to the big man. He put his hand into his pocket and revealed something wrapped in a silver wrapper. He reached under the bench and came up with a fresh bottle of water._

"_Eat and then try to get some shut eye, kid," Eyepatch man said, going back to his reading._

_Gwen tore open the wrapper and took a bite. Energy bars were good normally, to Gwen it was like eating a five star meal. _

_After the food was gone, Gwen looked at the man beside her again. "Will you wake me up?" she asked._

"_When?"_

"_When we land the plane," she replied. "I don't like waking up in a different place from where I fell asleep." There was a story behind that fear, but she wasn't going to go into it at the moment._

"_Alright," he replied. "Just get some sleep."_

* * *

A sharp poke to her side brought Gwen back to the present.

"Something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Tony asked.

"Not particularly," Gwen replied. "Just remembering when I first met Uncle Nick."

"She asked me if I was a pirate and then fell asleep on me," Fury replied.

"You made me sit next to you on the bench," Gwen retorted. "You knew I was exhausted and you can't tell me that you weren't expecting it."

"No, but it sure ruined my rep back at headquarters." Fury cast her a sidelong glance with an air of playfulness.

"You got it back. You're Director Fury now, that's got to say something. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're really just a big softie on the inside."

"You wouldn't dare." Both glared playfully at each other.

All around the livingroom, the rest of the Avengers were in varying states of shock. Tony was still looking like he was choking on something. Bruce was just shaking his head at Tony's antics. Steve looked like someone had just told him Santa Claus wasn't real. Clint and Natasha were having an entire conversation using nothing but glances at one another.

Clint, out of everyone in the room, had known Director Fury the longest and even when they had interacted outside of getting briefed for missions, had never seen the man act like this. Natasha, having been introduced to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. under less than ideal circumstances, could honestly say that she thought that the one-eyed man would never act like he was now.

At the same time though, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the man. Sure, Gwen might trust them to a point. But judging from the camaraderie coming from the two on the couch across from her, the girl trusted her adoptive uncle with more than her life.

"So Gwen, why are you here?" Fury asked the girl. "Last I heard, you were living with your aunt and uncle."

Gwen went stiff as a board and Natasha could see the walls that automatically went up behind the girl's eyes. Fury noticed and frowned, going on edge.

"Gwen," he said, "Gwen, what happened? What's wrong?"

The girl shot him a look so lacking in emotion that Natasha held back a wince.

"We were with them for all of a month," Gwen said finally, her tone as emotionless as her expression. "Then Norman Osbourne decided that he wanted to adopt us. Things were fine for a few months, then Norman found out about me."

Fury looked like he had swallowed a thunderhead. "What did he do?" the director growled, each word coming out louder than the last till the final word was a roar.

Gwen squeezed her eyes shut, like she was trying to keep out bad memories. When it was clear that she wasn't going to answer any time soon, Peter did for her.

"They did ex-spearmints on her," Peter said in his five year-old voice. "They locked her in white room and I never got to see her. She said they just gave her shots like when daddy used to take me to the doctor."

Gwen's knuckles were white and she was shaking. Peter squirmed in his sister's lap so he could turn around and give her a hug. When she didn't respond, her eyes still squeezed shut, Peter pinched her arm.

His sister flinched and opened her eyes. Peter stared at his sister with a look that Natasha couldn't quite interpret. It was about as close to a glare as Natasha had ever seen Peter give his sister.

"No," he said. "No, you promised Gwen. No bad thoughts."

"I know I promised," Gwen said. "I'm better now Pete, promise. See, no bad thoughts." She gave her brother a small smile that seemed to appease him, but none of the grown-ups were convinced.

"Gwen, are you going to be alright?" Steve asked quietly.

Gwen nodded and stood up. "I need a little while."

Everyone watched as Gwen strode out of the room.

"I believe that is my cue to leave." Director Fury stood up. He focused his gaze on each of the Avengers in turn. "If they weren't already in the safest place I could think of, they would be coming with me. Don't let me down. This is probably the most important mission I've ever given you."

With a swish of his trenchcoat, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. showed himself out.

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**And that's the chapter! I know it's short but this really was the best place to cut the chapter off at. I'll make every effort to update this Friday. After this weekend, life settles down a little bit for me *crosses fingers* so hopefully we'll be back to a more or less regular update schedule after that. Please review guys and tell me what you think.  
**

**Until next time,  
CaseClosed621**


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